February is internationally renowned for fashion: London Fashion Week gets under way next week, and Paris’ Fall/Winter Fashion Week starts on 28th February. With the impacts of the pandemic still prevalent for so many businesses and startups, it’s more important than ever to recognise the companies bringing new and innovative ideas to the table.
From SPF to clothing and wearable devices, these companies all have a unique offering that the team at TechRound wants to showcase!
Activewear Companies Featured
- SOS Activewear
- LifeJacket
- J.LUXE.FIT
- Design Partners
- Danu Sports
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
SOS Activewear
Website: https://sosactivewear.com/
Founder: Bronte Simm
SOS Activewear is a London based, sustainable activewear brand, providing premium quality items that both you and the planet can rely on simultaneously. The brand has a mission to offer a reliable, premium activewear brand to anyone and everyone that is looking to make their wardrobe more conscious without sacrificing style, functionality or quality.
Their core timeless pieces are made from ECONYL, a fibre made from recycled fishing nets and other waste that would otherwise be discarded into oceans and landfills with other collections focusing on recycled organic cottons and renewable energy sources during production. By using these recycled materials, we help clean our oceans, recycle that waste, and cut out the need for raw materials (like crude oil and harsh chemicals) which are traditionally used in the production of nylon and cottons.
Too often we are bombarded with false messaging and green promises without substance, which makes for living more consciously and consuming more sustainably a real minefield. It’s our responsibility to leave the world in a cleaner, more enjoyable and thriving state. Nature is incredible, our bodies are incredible and together we can change what the future looks like and encourage others to do the same.
Still in its infancy, SOS is a small brand on a big mission to help the planet recover from our plastic crisis and overconsumption. Founder Bronte Simms, established the brand back in 2020 with a purpose to offer an alternative to fast gym-wear brands whilst maintaining premium quality, durability & style.
“I’ve made it my mission to offer a reliable, premium activewear brand to anyone and everyone that is looking to make their wardrobe more conscious without sacrificing style, functionality or quality. SOS products are made to fill you with confidence, power any workout and support you and the planet simultaneously.”
The current collection comprises 7 key pieces, including the best selling Attiva and Ridley sweaters, Minke sports bra, Terra Tie Top and Steller Hoodie, as well as the ‘Save Our Seas’ 100% recycled tee.
LifeJacket
Website: https://lifejacketskinprotection.com/
Founders: Rob, Jono Sumner & Billy Boulos
The brand launched in 2019. In 2020 it saw 507% sales growth. In 2021, to date sales have grown 259% and are forecasted to grow another 444% in 2022. They now have over 20 ambassadors and are looking to do far more and launch new products this year. They have just signed up with global sporting events charity Battle Cancer.
British-made LifeJacket Skin Protection was created by Billy, Jono and Rob – three best friends from London who love the great outdoors. Co-founder Jono says “Like everyone else, I thought I was invincible until I was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 34. It was a real wake-up call”. It made him think how he could help other men protect themselves from the most easily preventable cancer; skin cancer.
UK men are twice as likely to develop skin cancer than women. Male skin cancer cases have exploded over the past 20 years and they are forecast to double over the next 20. It’s down to the simple fact that not enough men are protecting their skin – and if they do, they don’t do it year-round. Men are also less likely to get an anomaly checked out early.
A partner of Melanoma UK, LifeJacket’s mission is to protect men who love outdoor adventure from skin cancer. The boom in outdoor sports such as cycling and stand up paddle boarding isn’t being matched by an increase in men protecting their skin from everyday harmful UV rays. LifeJacket is here to change that.
LifeJacket Skin Protection is worn by professional and Olympic cyclists and rowers, wakeboarders, surfers, adventurers and mountaineers.
“Sun protection isn’t a summer story – it’s a year-round story. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are responsible for 80% of the damage to your skin all year-round. Damage is even worse when out on the water or in the snow as the UVA rays bounce off the water and snow and so the skin gets hit twice – even in overcast weather. LifeJacket’s range of UPF 50+ active clothing – t-shirts, tops, hats and rash vests also protect men when exercising outdoors.”
“Men have been left behind in the sun protection market. Most advertising features female, bikini-clad bodies or happy kids in the sun. Men aren’t included. Nor do men have high protection SPF everyday moisturisers. Over 70% of men are put off from using sun protection as it’s too greasy, heavy, perfumed or aimed at women.”
“The female market is well-served, with daily moisturisers incorporating SPF protection. Yet only 3% of the male UK population use an SPF daily moisturiser.”
J.LUXE.FIT
Website: https://jluxefit.com/
Founder: Jordan Tuck
“I started the brand to solve my own problem. As a curvaceous woman on my weight loss journey due to a long standing problem with a thyroid condition and multiple surgeries my issue was always, why couldn’t I find a matching sports bra and leggings that held my bust in place and made me feel supported & confident enough to wear to the gym.”
“Everything I found was either too flimsy and fell down or looked like something I had borrowed from my Nan; it never matched, and I never felt confident to wear it out. This, therefore, meant I was further away from achieving my weight loss goals.”
“So, I decided to start my own brand. I spent about 6 months researching and testing the best fabrics, designs and samples. Then in August 2020, I launched J.LUXE.FIT and I’m now also 2 stone lighter because creating sportswear I feel confident in has made me want to exercise and go to the gym.”
“Since then, we have had over one thousand orders worldwide and J.LUXE.FIT has created an empowering Instagram community of 11k women who support each other on their fitness journeys.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Viscero
Website: https://www.designpartners.com/projects/viscero-ecg-vest/
Chief Design Officer & Partner: Cormac Ó Conaire, Design Partners
Viscero is a wearable ECG monitoring vest aimed at people with abnormal heartbeats (known as an “arrhythmia”). The technology-enabled vest could replace the Holter monitor currently used by medical professionals as a non-invasive solution for heart monitoring.
The most used heart monitoring solution today is the Holter monitor. This device relies on taping “wet” electrodes to the chest, which are then plugged into a monitor carried by the patient in a pouch. Natural movement is consequently inhibited, causing patient discomfort, and even impacting data veracity.
Design Partners has circumvented these issues by incorporating a carefully designed ECG circuit system into the fabric of the Viscero vest, using electronic ink. As a result, the system can be worn discreetly under clothes causing no discomfort to the wearer, while results are captured via a doctor-patient dashboard, to enable further simplification.
Heart rate signals are captured via printed electrodes, situated beneath tailored compression points in the arms and waist. These maintain electrical contact between the garment and the skin, to ensure continuous, accurate data monitoring. The “brain” of the device, meanwhile, is a small pod that has been specifically designed to sit in a pocket on the shirt to enable further discretion. This can be easily removed for charging or washing.
Inside the brain is an onboard accelerometer and gyroscope. This data is combined with any recorded heart signals to provide the clinician with a fuller picture of the circumstances surrounding specific events, such as a change in heart rate due to exercise.
Danu Sports
Website: https://www.danusports.com/
Founder & CEO: Oisín Lennon
Danu Sports had an ambitious idea for how to measure and analyse an athlete’s gait during activity, and partnered with Design Partners, who specialise in wearables design, to explore: can we utilise wearable technology to help athletes maximise athletic ability and reduce injury occurrence and rehabilitation time?
As a solution, a smart layer was created with 15 pressure sensors that cover the entire sole of the foot, enabling it to collect data on precisely where and how a person is landing. The sensors can prevent injury and re-injury by monitoring lower-limb load, measuring on-field imbalance, analysing gait, quantifying fatigue and tracking rehab progress.
The tracks from the sensors are integrated into an athlete’s sports-sock and run up to a pod located above the malleolus bone. The IMU pod clips into it and can be taken out to charge. Using algorithms and a very clear UI, a sports scientist or coach can take the data and use it in a precise and targeted way to help enhance the performance of athletes or teams of athletes, in real-time, without wading through streams of spreadsheets.
SKYRE
Website: https://www.designpartners.com/projects/reinventing-patient-physio-relationships/
Chief Design Officer & Partner: Cormac Ó Conaire, Design Partners
A tear or sprain to the anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most problematic sports injuries. Rehabilitation after surgery is based on scaled activity intended to regenerate rather than just a time-based healing process, and so involves close direction from a physiotherapist. The physiotherapist needs to understand exactly where the patient is in the rehabilitation and physical activity regime, and then increase or modify it at precisely the right points.
Design Partners collaborated with a team led by Salvatore Tedesco, from the Wireless Sensor Network Group, at the Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork to create SKYRE – a wearable device in the form of two leg-sleeves worn above and below the affected knee. The technology closely measures specific muscle movement and feeds data into a digital dashboard on SKYRE app, consequently allowing for remote monitoring – the physiotherapist sees the progression curve, how it’s beginning to match the healthy knee, and advises on how the regime can be amended.
During recovery exercises, SKYRE app uses a voice-based interface to provide advice and encouragement to the patient, just like a physiotherapist being there on the spot. This is important because it helps the user to stay focused and on track. Active monitoring and timely communication ensure that both wearer and physiotherapist are aligned, working together for a speedier recovery.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
OBEX
Website: https://www.designpartners.com/surf-hood/
Chief Design Officer & Partner: Cormac Ó Conaire, Design Partners
Injury and death are unfortunately prevalent in surfing. Concussions can increase the risk of drowning, and even a few seconds of unconsciousness can be fatal if there’s nobody around to rescue you.
Design Partners wanted to find a solution that could help reduce surfer fatality without hindering surfers doing what they love. Hence, OBEX.
OBEX is a surf hood with integrated sensors that activate an inflatable bladder (heat-sealed nylon urethane). This bladder is discreetly stored within the collar of the hood. Two canisters of CO2 inflate the bladder. These are stored in a pocket between the shoulder blades. Both canisters are also connected to a separate pull tab located in the collar for manual activation if necessary.
The impact sensors that sense an incident are sandwiched between the neoprene and thermal layers using flexible circuitry. Following a high impact collision, OBEX will inflate to keep the surfer safe, as well as alert fellow surfers both in the water through haptic notifications, and on land via the OBEX app.
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