Lingerie Fabrics Explained: Silk, Lace, Tulle, Mesh and Powernet

A lingerie composition label is one of the more informative things on a garment and one of the least read. Six materials account for nearly everything in the category, and each one behaves in a predictable way — in wear, in washing, and over time.

The structural distinction that matters most

Before the individual fabrics: the important divide is between materials that stretch and recover and materials that do not.

Stretch comes almost entirely from elastane — also sold as Lycra or Spandex — blended into another fibre. Elastane is what lets a band grip, a cup mould and a brief sit without digging. It is also the component that dies first: heat, chlorine, detergent and time all degrade it, and once it goes the garment is finished regardless of how good the face fabric still looks.

That single fact explains most of what follows and all of the care advice.

The fabrics

Silk. Woven from a natural protein fibre. It has essentially no stretch of its own, so it appears in unstructured pieces — slips, robes, French knickers, soft cups — or backed with something else. It feels superb against skin, is genuinely temperature-regulating, and is fragile: it marks with water, weakens in sunlight, and is damaged by alkaline detergent. Silk garments are the most likely in a drawer to need hand washing and the most likely to be ruined by not getting it.

Lace. A category rather than a fabric, and the differences within it are large. Leavers-type lace, made on historic machines, is fine, dimensionally stable and expensive. Raschel lace, knitted on modern machines, is far cheaper, generally stretchier and coarser in detail. Stretch lace has elastane knitted in and is what most modern lingerie uses. What to look for: the definition of the pattern and how the edges are finished — a scalloped edge used as the garment's own edge, rather than being cut and bound, indicates better lace and better construction.

Tulle. Fine open net, traditionally without stretch. Used for sheer panels, overlays and structured shapes where transparency is wanted but grip is not. Silk tulle is delicate and beautiful; nylon tulle is more robust. It snags easily and is the material most likely to be damaged by a rough fingernail.

Mesh. The workhorse. Knitted, usually nylon with elastane, sheer to semi-sheer, stretchy and considerably more durable than tulle. Most contemporary sheer lingerie is mesh rather than tulle, and it is comfortable, washes reasonably and holds shape well for what it is.

Powernet. A dense, firm, high-elastane knit used where a garment has to hold something — bra wings, bra bands, shapewear, the back panels of a bodysuit. It is the least glamorous material in the drawer and the one doing the most work. Its condition is the best single indicator of a bra's remaining life.

Satin. A weave, not a fibre — silk satin, polyester satin and nylon satin are all satin and are completely different garments. It gives a smooth, lustrous face and it shows everything underneath, which is why cheap satin lingerie so often reveals its own seam allowances through the fabric.

What each one is for

Reading a composition label

Three habits make the label useful.

Check the elastane percentage on anything that is meant to hold. A band with very little elastane will not grip for long; a very high percentage in a face fabric usually means a stretchier, less structured garment than the photograph suggests.

Check whether the face and the lining are the same fibre family. Where they differ substantially they will take dye differently, wash differently and age differently. This is the mechanism behind the tonal mismatch discussed in our piece on red lingerie.

Take "silk" at the level it is stated. A garment described as silk with a small silk percentage in the composition is a blend, and it will behave like the majority fibre.

What this means for care

Almost all of it reduces to protecting elastane and protecting silk.

Elastane is degraded by heat, by chlorine, by biological and alkaline detergents and by mechanical agitation. Silk is additionally damaged by alkaline detergent, by sunlight and by wringing. Cool water, a gentle detergent, no tumble drying and no direct sun cover both — the full method is in how to wash and store luxury lingerie.

Choosing on fabric

For everyday structured wear, mesh and powernet with a sensible elastane content will outlast anything else in the drawer. For pieces that are about feel rather than support, silk is unmatched and demands the care. For statement pieces, the lace quality is what separates them, and it is visible in the pattern definition and the edge finish before you buy.

Beyond fabric, construction is what decides longevity — what you actually pay for in luxury lingerie covers where the money goes, and the best luxury lingerie brands covers who does what.

Fabric names, blends and finishing differ by brand and line. Nothing here is a claim about a specific current product — the composition label and the brand's own product page are the authority.