At the 2001 New York spring/summer collections in September, Japanese fashion designers Ichiro Seta and Takashi Kataoka showed their designs as part of the Tencel collection, and succeeded in demonstrating the versatility of the new fiber.

Tencel's collection, titled "The Modernists," featured eight emerging designers from Japan, Brazil, France, Britain, Italy and the United States. Seta and Kataoka were the only Asian designers selected for the collection.

Each designer exhibited 10 works, all using Tencel fabrics. Kataoka introduced dresses with flower and leaf motifs, while Seta showed stunning handspun weblike dresses.

Tencel is a cellulosic fiber made from wood pulp, and the fabrics are characterized by their strength, silky softness and fluidity. They also resist shrinkage and wrinkling.

"My challenge was to see how I could make best use of Tencel's characteristics," said Seta at a recent Tokyo press conference.

Tencel has been considered a material for casual clothes, but he said he wanted to create something elegant.

"I think I was able to handle the fabric all right. I'm satisfied with the results," he said.

Kataoka found the Tencel fiber interesting because it enabled him to create well-defined forms.

The natural fabric inspired him to make sharp but romantic dresses.

The two designers are planning to exhibit more works using Tencel fabrics in December at Japan Creation 2001, a large-scale fabric exposition.