CB200

Sweat and oils are really bad for laminated fabrics. Both for performance and longevity. I wonder if post fabric production dyeing or other processes may have striped any oleophobic (oil repellent) treatment the fabric may have had.

Fractional reserve standard doesn't have quite the same marketing ring to it.

Style>substance. Surface>depth. The trap of viewing of techwear as a styling of clothes, or worse shopping from an approved list of brands, over thoughtful design and the affordances that the combination of technology and design brings.

Nice work and congratulations on getting the weight down. The lower limit for the other ultralight 3-layer taped garments seems to be around the 120ish gram range and that's with minimal features. This fabric does seem to help lower that bar significantly in the weight dept. Super exciting to see a "school project" have the possibility of becoming a commercial project and going to bulk production.

Yeah, a good brain challenge there.

Dream Job? Might need to change your user name. Well deserved attention and not surprising that opportunities are on deck given the work you've done. Look forward to seeing that 79gram jacket. Part of me wishes they could do something more with colour on that fabric, but a different part of me likes the brutalism.

In theory laminated micro-porous membrane textiles are interesting, but pragmatic arguments can be made against their over prescription for every use. That said, market expectations do exist and breathability is, despite there being little to no consensus / standard to what the term means at the consumer level, an expected feature for a technical hardshell fabrics to be commercially viable.

Congratulations on the contract. Getting that first gig in creative industries always seems like a catch 22, but once you're cosigned by a brand with paying work on a product you're kind of in. Interesting to hear the comments regarding Goretex, their brand name and marketing has had such a head start that it's a big mountain to tackle for anyone who dares take on the breathable/waterproof fabric challenge. Don't know if we'll ever see another fabric brand command as much mind or market share in the near future in that category.

That's not me. Zero danger of your head exploding.

Very cool project(s) and loved seeing a dumpster & fence I recognize used as photo location.

Conroy's return would be interesting. To my eyes, he set the design vision and built the blocks for the line. Other's have had to colour inside the lines that were set by his legacy to keep a through line for designs. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but could be a challenge for other designers to stick to a vision that someone else set. I'd hope to see more interesting pieces, and materials if this is true.

I'm super sceptical with the method of construction used in the pants shown in the photos. For a shell a single needle and tape might work great, in pants it looks like a poor design choice for durabilty. You can see in the photos that the fabric edge has frayed from the stitches ripping through the fabric's unfinished edge. The low seam allowances necessary to allow for taping risks leaving the seams too close to the fabric's edge. This in combination with the lack of a finished edge on the fabric, creates the risk of tearing and fraying of the edge overtime and stress. Crotches take a beating (you may not want to google that) and usually have construction that goes the extra mile to address this. The construction finishes super clean and flat when done this way, too bad it looks like it is weaker in practice that regular old ugly construction. Sadly, there always seems to be some tradeoffs when pushing the edge. I hope they do warranty it as that sounds like a pretty short lifespan.

Wash like with like. Don't mix synthetics and natural fibres. Wash inside out do up zippers. Avoid putting too coarse things with softer fabrics, a heavier denim will work as an abrasive in a machine. I've been told from a fabric supplier that Nikwax doesn't rinse out as well as Grainers. Use a clean washing machine or dryer, fabric softeners will kill DWR, if you use a shared washing machine or dryer you've got no idea if a product with a softener has been in there. If there's a membrane make sure it's rinsed out well. Hang to dry. If heat is needed to activate the DWR do it after the piece is dry for shorter time. You can hand wash anything, but ensure you rinse really well.

Regarding size changes. Totally understandable given the price of the garment that there would be more uniformity in measurements expected. While it can be disappointing, the manufacturing of products out of fabric will always have some variations between individual products and different product runs. There's lots of places for variation to enter into the production process . Some off the top of my head... the tension of the bolt of fabric, resting time variations between spreading of fabrics, cutting variance when cutting panels, seam allowance difference between operators, distortions through heat pressing during production, distortions of fabric while being sewn, final pressing differences... With so many places for distortions, It's expected that there will be - some - variations in final production pieces. Each tech pack (blue print) for a product will have the tolerance listed as to what is acceptable for these differences. We don't know what the tolerance that would allow something to fall within spec for the pants. I'd expect that it would be high, but sometimes "half grade" is considered acceptable. If the next size up is two inches bigger... half the grade would be an inch. One would think they would have a tighter tolerance, but who knows. Certainly steps should be done to eliminate as much variation as possible but there will always be some. Shifting production facilities over seas would certainly add to the challenge of maintaining product dimensions between items and production runs. Maybe it's a one off issue time will tell if QC becomes an issue. Getting measurements off an actual garment is the only way to be, somewhat, sure of what you're getting. On a pair of pricy pants- the seller should be happy to provide.

Many fabrics need to relax after they are unrolled before you cut panel pieces. If it is not given sufficient time to relax before cutting there can be continued shrinkage of the fabric after a panel is cut. This results in the pane piece's dimensions being smaller than the pattern and a smaller final product would be the result. Variations in fit between products sewn from different "cuts" using the same patterns and markers can happen in this way, along with natural variations from being a hand made product with fabrics that may have some degree of stretch to them.