Steve Tidball, co-founder of Vollebak, discusses the brand’s design philosophy that resulted in innovations such as the 100 Year Hoodie, Apocalypse Jacket and more.
The British clothing company is known for its boundless innovations that will see us through extreme environments, from a hoodie designed to double as an airbag to another made for sleeping on Mars.
Join Steve, WGSN Executive Editorial Director Bethan Ryder and Head of Activewear Yvonne Kostiak as we highlight some of our favourite activewear innovations, including the Jason Bourne-esque pants designed to last 100 years. We also touch on the climate crisis and explore how the brand might be able to offer solutions for extreme weather and harsh environments that are increasingly becoming a reality.
Practicality and functionality at the core
“Back on Earth we make really practical clothes. Our Indestructible range includes hoodies, pants and jackets that can survive if you’re chucked off a motorbike. We also have a range dedicated to intercepting things that are on their way to the garbage dump and we make clothes out of them, similarly with black algaes and things like that.”
Chasing innovation in design
“We take on a series of thematic challenges and attempt to meet them by recombining conceptual ideas that not many people are thinking about, with materials that not many people are using, and we pursue that strategy fairly religiously. The result is that there is absolutely no seasonality because innovation is ready when it’s ready.”
Equipping explorers of the future
“I quite like Earth, I think it’s wonderful. You’ve got sunshine and the sea and it’s fantastic. But if you’re looking at the ultimate expression of where our company goes, if someone stepped onto a new planet wearing our clothing, that would be the most extraordinary achievement I could think of.”
– Steve Tidball, co-founder of Vollebak
Head to Apple or Spotify to hear the full discussion on our Create Tomorrow podcast episode, Dressed up for Mars (or Netflix!) with Vollebak.