“Technology is completely consuming everything and the expectation for technology is even more pronounced in outerwear,” said Scott Branscum, executive vice president of sales, merchandising and marketing at Cocona 37.5 Technology, a company that makes a fiber that helps the body to maintain an ideal core temperature. Before joining Cocona 37.5, he created outerwear for Tumi, Massif, and Eddie Bauer. Branscum said that offering stretch, anti-microbials and water-repellency gives retailers “something with which you can engage a customer other than price point. Today’s young people have grown up with technology, and they expect innovative features in their apparel. “If it doesn’t have technology, it doesn’t get their attention,” Branscum said. “In the old days, Teflon was what you used for water-repellency and Lycra was for stretch. That seems Medieval now.”