Clothes are an integral part of our lives, functioning as our second skin in the first place. Pieces of fabric become an extension of ourselves, to protect us and to accompany us in our daily tasks, especially in sportswear. With much movement, sometimes unforeseen weather circumstances and the body functioning at its highest performance, sportswear needs to stretch out to all of those needs.
Cue UYN, the sportswear brand founded in 2018 by Trerè Innovation who made it their mission to make the world a better place. Through detecting problems, the resulting solutions are not only applied to their own brand but are meant to set an example for the industry. As part of their development process, their research center AREAS was inaugurated with a recent celebration of its opening this month, dedicating their grounds to the testing and scientific examination of products to combine biotech materials with researching solutions to develop the most innovative sportswear for every circumstance.
Image Courtesy of UYN.
At the grounds of the UYN’s headquarters, AREAS also finds their place there to build an immediate connection between the production of clothes and its strong mission to push for innovation. The endless search for creating the most advanced sportswear remains a priority in each step, as the research and development center AREAS is also lovingly called the ‚Brain Unit’. It holds space for testing products to guarantee their highest performance, research laboratories, an academy for scientists in textile technology and a creative hub where ideas for product design are born.
Every piece of clothing that UYN designs comes with meaning. To ensure that the products still fulfill UYN’s standards, the ground floor of AREAS offers room for extensive analysis. New biomaterials and yarn are being tested chemically by the pH value of the components while there are also mechanical tests to examine the stretchability of the soles. As doing sports means being exposed to extreme conditions, AREAS does the same with the final products as their robustness is being challenged in terms of temperature and washing resistance.
Image Courtesy of UYN.
The main priority of UYN remains to assimilate to the wearer’s needs. That’s why one room behind, each product is tested the way it is intended to be worn. Fully decked with sports equipment, athletes are invited to try each piece in full motion. To grasp the wearer’s needs, each movement is tracked to give feedback to the manufacturers directly from whom the clothes cater.
One level below, a different factor comes into play. With extreme sports, it is crucial to find clothes that withstand the weather circumstances while still catering to the wearer’s comfort. In AREAS’ basement, cold chambers are used to expose the clothes to temperatures at -20 degrees. After that, a thermal camera records the wearer’s body temperature to document the efficiency of the clothes. Next to the cold chamber, a different one is evaluating the clothes’ water resistance through an intensive rain stream.
Image Courtesy of UYN.
The starting point of it all was socks. Since then, many things have been brewing behind the doors of UYN including the development of their first sneaker made out of the base they were coming from — socks. At the UYN factory, high technology is used to make each piece of clothing seamless which means that the machines are programmed to knit a pattern that will produce the least amount of waste. With each research to improve their products, the wearer’s needs are always the first priority to fulfill. Seamless socks do also contribute to the comfort while wearing them during high movement sports and their unique fit prevents them from slipping down.
A big part of UYN besides high technology and research is their use of biotech materials. UYN takes nature as its inspiration. Using materials derived from mother earth, UYN uses their benefits and elevates them to their highest potential. Finding substitutes for synthetic materials, Kapok is used as yarn, calling it vegetable wool. Elastane is replaced by Flexicorn, still being highly elastic, breathable and resilient. Digging deeper into the aspect of breathability, Biolight extracted from the cellulose of beech trees keeps the skin cool and dry. Ecolypt coming from eucalyptus trees is a strong and elastic material with small hydrophilic fibers that make moisture evaporate faster. Finding ways to replicate synthetic materials is endless but for UYN a challenge that they are willing to take on. Natex is their version of nylon made out of castor beans. It is a lightweight elastic fabric that also has bacteriostatic effects. Every step that makes up a piece from UYN seems like a process of trying to ensure clothes perform up to their highest levels. And the hunger for innovation is never-ending at UYN and their very own research center AREAS. Aiming for technological improvement for each collection, UYN holds the place for the most innovative biotech materials in sportswear.
AREAS has opened its door to the public so that everyone can have a look at what is happening behind their research and development process. You can book your visit here.