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NikePatent applicationClothing & sportInterest 8/10

Nike patents fabric that tightens when it gets wet

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Nike has filed a patent for clothing made with special film layers attached to a base fabric. When these layers absorb moisture, they expand in thickness while the main fabric shrinks in width and length, causing the garment to fit more snugly against the body.

Why it mattersThis could lead to sportswear that automatically adjusts its tightness based on sweat or rain, potentially improving comfort and performance without electronic controls.

In the filing’s own words

Aspects herein are directed to articles of apparel formed from a base textile and including a plurality of discrete overlay film structures affixed to the base textile at one or more locations on the article of apparel. When exposed to an external stimulus, the film structures undergo an increase in dimension in at least the z-direction and the base textile undergoes a decrease in dimension in one or more of the x-direction and the y-direction.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An article of apparel comprising: a base textile comprising a tubular structure; and a plurality of discrete moisture-responsive structures affixed to the base textile and circumferentially around the tubular structure, wherein upon exposure to moisture the plurality of discrete moisture-responsive film structures, by diffusing moisture from one surface to an opposite surface, undergo a change in dimension in at least a z-direction, and the base textile undergoes a decrease in one or more of width in an x-direction and length in a y-direction, and wherein the decrease in the one or more of the width and the length is associated with a tighter fit of the tubular structure.

Facts

Company
Nike (NIKE, Inc)
Official title
APPAREL WITH ADAPTIVE FIT
Publication number
US20260314727A1
Application number
19465228
Filed
Jan 30, 2026
Published
Oct 15, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

A41D 27/28 Human necessitiesA41D 13/0156 Human necessitiesA41D 31/02 Human necessitiesA41D 31/125 Human necessitiesA41D 31/185 Human necessitiesB05C 5/0208 Operations & transport
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.