The influence of techwear within the greater fashion industry is growing each year. Born out of the unlikely crossover between fashion and the outdoor industry, urban techwear ( or "techwear", for short) is an emerging style that blends form within a relentless focus on function. It's pure play focus on functionality, but it manages to do so, in style. The appeal of forward thinking, clothes that provide both utility and comfort is obvious, but the term techwear and all it entails can be intimidating to understand.
Basically, Techwear is clothing for everyday life, with special fabric, construction and properties that allow for breathability, movement, water-resistance and comfort.
There's way to much to unpack about techwear in the space alone, so consider this an introduction to the essentials.
Technical Aspects
The main appeal of techwear clothing and gear is that it can make life easier, whether its being able to carry more stuff on a weekend trip or to stay dry during a downpour. Below are some of the major benefits that techwear items provide.
Water Resistance
One of the techwear's main advantages is its water repellency. The modern wave of technical garments owe a lot to the development of GORE-TEX. Gore-Tex remains the standard in water repellency and has the most brand recognition amongst the major water proof textiles. Outside of water repellency, there are dozens of synthetic fabrics which can offer different properties including, but not limited to : stretch, odor resistance, abrasion resistance and reflectiveness.
Range and Motion of Comfort
While most garments & pants are cut to standard patterns. Techwear challenges convention by designing patterns with the movement of the human body in mind. Another aspect of comfort beyond movement is breathability. In techwear terms, this means letting sweat & heat escape so the wearer doesn't feel clamming in the garments.
Carrying Capacity
Now that we often carry multiple devices and their respective chargers around with us, techwear items are often well-considered with the storage they supply. Whether through designs such as zippered pockets or more elaborate solutions such as removable modular attachments. The combo of the water proof fabrics and well-designed carrying capacity mean you can carry more and worry less.
The Aesthetic
Techwear isn't easy to jump into head-on, but because of the minimalist, versatile nature of he garments, there is plenty room for experimentation. The athleisure style often straddles the line between aesthetics and utility, techwear choose to ignore the line altogether; in our tech-enabled future, why couldn't someone have both?
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