London, United Kingdom
Bigger, balder, and crazier than ever, Nick Tidball of London-based Vollebak has spent the last two years in R&D building Version 3 to design the new 100 Year Hoodie from scratch to combat every element on Earth.
As floods and fires sweep across entire countries, we’re radically underprepared as a species for the speed at which change is taking place.
But while we’re entering new normality, we’re not about to suddenly evolve the ability to resist fire or live back in the oceans.
So, our survival systems need to adapt – from emergency planning and infrastructure to our architecture and clothing.
Of all of these clothing is going to be the fastest.
Constructed from a three-layered fabric originally developed for the elite military, it now repels rain, wind and snow as well as fire, making it the toughest hoodie ever created.
If you looked at a cross-section of this hoodie, you’d think you’re just looking at a single layer of fabric.
But just as you’d find with any high-performance jacket, it’s actually three separate layers sandwiched together and performing three distinct roles. The outer layer is stretchy, fireproof, and windproof softshell.
The middle layer is a water repellent membrane. And the bottom layer next to your skin is a soft, engineered fleece that keeps you warm, dry, and comfortable.
Even on its own the outer layer of the hoodie would be one of the toughest pieces of clothing you’d ever worn.
Highly durable and abrasion-resistant, it’s also water repellent, stretchy and fireproof.
Yet despite this, it doesn’t feel like any fire-resistant fabric that’s ever been made before.
And that’s because it’s the two layers beneath it help turn it into a hoodie comfortable enough to spend the rest of your life in.
The inside of the hoodie is made from an engineered fleece. And it’s this inner layer that provides the warmth and comfort you want from any great hoodie.
The material the 100 Year Hoodie is built from is designed to protect you in the most dangerous situations, from flash fires to arc flash.
A flash fire is a sudden, intense fire that combines high temperatures and short duration with a rapidly moving flame front.
An arc flash is a type of extreme electrical explosion that’s capable of generating temperatures of 19,400°C, which is four times hotter than the surface of the sun and can burn skin and set clothes on fire even at a distance.
Milled in the US before being manufactured at one of the most technologically advanced factories in the world, each 100 Year Hoodie takes over 40 weeks to make but is designed to last for the rest of your life.
With a soft, warm, engineered fleece next to your skin, a water repellent membrane, fireproof outer shell, and four front pockets with giant two-way zippers, it doubles as the toughest jacket you’ve ever owned.
Project: 100 Year Hoodie
Designer: Vollebak Ltd.
Manufacturer: Vollebak Ltd.
