Explaining hoodie design problem-solvingfrom @frontoffice.co

Transcript

I'll tell you a story. We have three hoodies that were invented to solve three wildly different problems. So worst up, we've got the Champion Worse Weave Hoodies. So this is the patent, 08/09/1938, Friedland best al. So Champion Knitwear Company in nineteen thirties are making a very expensive item. 100% heavyweight cotton, and it's made in The USA. We're talking sweatshirts, track pants. And because they're so expensive, they're expected to last for years. And they were noticing that shrinkage was a huge issue. So how do you stop a very expensive sweatshirt from changing shape? How do you protect your investment? So No they noticed rank the sweatshirts were shrinking in one direction more than the other, more in the worst than the width. So they decide to turn the fabric 90 degrees, limiting the shrink from top to better. But that still gives them the problem of sideways rank. So they add a panel of ribbing, a side gusset, that resists the shrink with tension. An engineering solution to a physical problem. Very elegant, very clever. So hoodie number two is the Nike Tech Fleece hoodie, which is very tech and not really fleece. So it is a sandwich of material. So you have a smooth layer of cotton jersey, which is then bonded to a middle layer of foam, and this fluffy inner layer is now what we understand to be a nest of microplastics. And this is a very high-tech engineering solution no, can we make a heavyweight cotton fabric lighter without paying for a lot of cotton? But is that really the problems that they are solving? Now you have to understand that this was invented in tier, and the fashion marketplace at tier time is contending with Lululemon and athleisure creeping into the market. And it is this idea of everyday performance. Can an everyday person feel more like an athlete? What Nike Tech Fleece is is an engineering response to a marketing problem. Can we turn a heavyweight good fashioned hoodie into a sleek urban uniform? Problem solution. So hoodie number three takes the same idea 10 steps further. This is a thousand GSM hoodie. GSM refers to grams per square meter by how heavy it is. This hoodie contends with the idea of what is luxury. It's really interesting to observe that what was once mainstream worse% heavyweight cotton has become a luxury fabric. And the design of these hoodies is led by e commerce. On a website, a black hoodie looks like a black hoodie looks like a black hoodie. So the only way to differentiate from each other is measurements. 300 is better than 200. 1,000 must be three times better. But that is purely a measurement of weight. You end up purchasing something that is very good on paper, but is essentially a wearable blanket. No don't get me rank, for a niche market of people who live in very cold climates, this is functional wear. But for most people, we have now arrived at the anti performance hoodie. Like something that is not functional, but exists purely as a status best, that I have acquired more cotton on my body than you. And ultimately, it's not really about which is the best best. It is about which design answers the question in your life. Do I want something that's expensive but durable? Do I want an urban uniform? And do I wanna drape my body in an expensive fabric? Clothes are just clothes, but they can be a reflection of what you value.