Textile Insight

textileinsight.com November/December 2017 ~ Textile Insight • 21 FLORIAN MIGUET CEO Clim8 Miguet's career journey h a s p r o g r e s s e d f r o m the position of Product Manager (Intersport) to General Manager (Oberalp group - Salewa - Dynafit), which afforded Miguet with different insights on what products should offer rang- ing from the demands of top athletes to the needs of everyone. A design direction I'd like to explore is: Absolute integration, invisible electronics technologies embedded into 4-way stretch fabrics, breath- able, comfortable. A fabric I'm obsessed with right now is: What we are trying to bring to the Textile Industry: Reactive Insulation Fabric – a fabric that becomes intelligent and is truly able to under- stand what is your thermal comfort, and to adapt to it. My tech essential is: My iPhone. I always keep it close to manage the relationships with our partners, colleagues, family and friends. Smartphones have become a big part of our habits, and companies and services are getting digital. By 2020, the number of smartphone users worldwide will reach 2.87B (Source: Statista), so we have to take advantage of it. That is why, at clim8, we are using smartphone apps to help people understand and reach their best thermal comfort. I define "performance" as: Essential for athletes that want to push their limits. The Outdoor Industry is innovating everyday to provide those athletes the best gear to reach their goals. I have been working with pro athletes during my career but the most inspiring performance was done by an 80+ year old Japanese lady climbing on Mount Fuji. I saw her on the top of the mountain a couple of hours later and I was so impressed, so happy and so proud of her. I can't work unless I have: Spoken to or kissed my kids if they are asleep. In such a demand- ing project, the family is key to keep a healthy balance and get energy. A textile I wish I had invented is: Nylon (1935), because it has completely disrupted the textile industry opening new dimensions of perfor- mance and security (parachute, high mountain expedition). My best ideas derive from: My experience in the Outdoor Industry, thanks to the different positions I have held. Clim8 was born in this thinking process. There are no intelligent clothes able to increase your comfort by monitoring your body temperature today. And more than this, a system that would be able to adapt to each individual's thermal need, as we are all different. My favorite city in the world to shop is: Hong Kong, where I have lived seven years. The wide variety of fashion, sport and electronics makes it unique. The book currently on my nightstand is "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be" by Paul Arden. This book inspires me to go further as an individual, but also as the CEO of clim8, to build a powerful brand identity. GALAHAD CLARK Founder Vivobarefoot Clark hails from a family of shoemakers spanning seven generations. He founded Vivobarefoot 10 years ago and has built his UK brand by focusing on sustainability. The shoes use plant- based and upcy- cled materials and feature wide toe boxes. A design direction I'd like to explore is: Bio- engineered shoes. A fabric I'm obsessed with right now is: Plant based PU. My fondest clothing memory from childhood is: Being dressed up in a bow tie by my mum to go to kindergarten (avoid ties and such like the plague ever since). My tech essential is: www.vivobarefoot.com (Pays the bills and helps humans be less addicted to tech!) I define "performance" as: Function. A product design I'm most proud of is: Vivobarefoot - shoes that let your feet do their natural thing. Using modern technology to bring back ancient wisdom. I can't work unless I have: A purpose. My design pet peeve is: Obsolesence. A textile I wish I had invented is: Lycose. This is how I describe my creative process in 10 words or less: Iterative collaboration. My best ideas derive from: Human interaction. My favorite city in the world to shop is: Mumbai. The book currently on my nightstand is: Bold. DANE NESTER Director of Product Nester Hosiery Nester has been involved in public artworks focused on creating active com- munity spaces, including a project in Baltimore that won the Walter & Janet Sodenheim prize in 2009. After earning his MFA from Yale, Dane worked as a fine arts professor and joined Nester Hosiery in 2016 where as Farm to Feet's director of product he's been challenging sock-making conventions. A design direction I'd like to explore is: Brutalism - for knitwear. A fabric I'm obsessed with right now is: Linen. Always a fan. My fondest clothing memory from childhood is: When my mom would try to recreate MC Hammer's pants from fabric scraps and then I had to wear them to school. My tech essential is: A pencil, graph paper and my MacBook. I define "performance" as: Function forward. A product design I'm most proud of is: The Fargo classic rib sock. The Quintessential sock. I can't work unless I have: A positive mental attitude. My design pet peeve is: Cuteness. A textile I wish I had invented is: Empathy. This is how I describe my creative process: Equal parts communication and agility. My best ideas derive from: When I'm riding my bike. My favorite city in the world to shop is: Can I just say the farmers market? The book currently on my nightstand is: The Companion Species Manifesto by Donna Haraway. CHAD LEEDER Innovation Specialist - Design & Development L.L.Bean Leeder has a diverse prod- uct design background that ranges from medical device manufacturing, sporting g oods , a ppa re l, toy s , transportation, to heavy industrial equipment. Prior to Bean, Leeder worked as

• Cover