: Fabric flammability is a surface-confined phenomenon: in fact, the fabric surface represents
the most critical region, through which the mass and heat transfers, responsible for fueling the flame,
are controlled and exchanged with the surroundings. More specifically, the heat the fabric surface is
exposed to is transferred to the bulk, from which volatile products of thermal degradation diffuse
toward the surface and the gas phase, hence feeding the flame. As a consequence, the chemical and
physical characteristics of the fabric surface considerably affect the ignition and combustion processes,
as the surface influences the flux of combustible volatile products toward the gas phase. In this
context, it is possible to significantly modify (and improve) the fire performance of textile materials
by “simply” tailoring their surface: currently, one of the most effective approaches exploits the
deposition of tailored coatings able to slow down the heat and mass transfer phenomena occurring
during the fire stages. This paper reviews the current state of the art related to the design of inorganic,
hybrid, or organic flame-retardant coatings suitable for the fire protection of different fabric substrates
(particularly referring to cotton, polyester, and their blends). More specifically, the use of sol-gel and
layer-by-layer (LbL) methods is thoroughly discussed; then, some recent examples of flame retardant
coatings are presented, showing their potential advances and their current limitations.