Damart: Reinventing the Thermolactyl Experience

This term in Garment technology we have been working on a collaborative project with Damart, a French-based comapny specialising in the production of clothing or the senior market. The brand prides itself on technological innovation, especially in their popular range of graded thermal wear, a result of the development of the Thermolactyl fibre.

The project is also a competition in which finalists will have thier designs photographed professionally on models and presented to a judgement panel before a winner is selected.

The basic aim for this project is to develop a garment or pair of garments aimed at a younger market, as Damart want to widen their appeal to a younger audience. The garments must maintain the key concepts which the company pride themselves on: Innovation, Consideration, Wellbeing, Vitality and Hi-Tech Function.

The design essentially needs to be  'a smart alliance between style and function'. 

We were asked to develop a range of leisure or lounge garments to be worn inside and outside the home both as outer and under garments. Getting the garments on and off needed to be easy and the design simple yet functional. Damart supplied the fabrics, a range of varying thicknesses of stretch jersey and pointelle from their Thermolactyl range.

My designs are shown above at the top of this post. The hoody is sleeveless with hoods and pockets, varying lengths at the front and back and two separate bodice pieces. The onesie is designed to be worn underneath, and features a button placket, short leg length and thumbholes in the sleeve. Both pieces feature orange contrast stitching, which is key to the aesthetic impact of the designs and my attempts to appeal to a younger, more dynamic customer base. The seam lines on the onesie are inspired by sporty racer-back vest tops, whilst the hoody silhouette was inspired by the clothing worn by boxers.

After Christmas we had 8 weeks to develop the pattern and create the garments. This was a huge challenge as it was the first time we developed a product from initial design ideas through to actualisation. Also, we had never worked in jersey before and it requires a completely different techniques and machines.

Love,

Pippa