Tag Archives: Fashion

Vollebak’s New Solar Charged Hat Is Perfect for Spelunking

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Vollebak is back, yet again, with a new piece of solar-charged apparel. Its new Solar Charged Hat looks exactly as comfortable as it is sustainably-designed, being that it’s made up of three layers of material insulating the head of whoever wears it. Plus, it’s covered in “membranes” that absorb light (like plants!) to power its biggest feature: it glows brightly in the dark wherever you “draw” light, meaning you can use it as an artist’s easel with a flashlight. But more importantly, you can store and communicate brightly-lit messages on the hat’s fabric.

Even without that, it’s a very nice glow-in-the-dark winter hat meant to pair with Vollebak’s other solar-powered apparel, like the Solar Charged Puffer. The expensive and intricate photovoltaic outer layer is cool-looking, and probably quite useful if you need all the light you can get, but it does come with a $395 price tag. According to Vollebak, it’s made for “the coldest, darkest places on Earth,” and if you’re going to those places anyway, you probably won’t mind spending on potentially life-saving functionality and maybe a little extra peace of mind.

Designer: Vollebak

It’s built for durability, using a wind and water-resistant three-layered material made of a Nylon mesh, ripstop, and the photovoltaic membrane that makes it solar-powered. The sides of the cap contain ultra-soft fleece lining and insulation. What stands out here is the Nylon used in the cap: Cordura, a reinforced material generally used in military-grade gear. Apparently, the ripstop layer is made of the same materials “found in parachutes”. And from that single revelation alone, if anything is certain, this is the hat you’d probably want on an expedition to Antarctica.

The kryptonite green color may be a bit too bright for high fashion; this Solar Charged Hat is definitely a piece of adventuring garb through and through, and — again if you’re in the freezing cold — it even comfortably fastens with a three-tightness chin fastener, giving you additional  warmth from the cold when needed. Of course, it doesn’t glow green all the time. When you go somewhere with a lot of natural light, as Vollebak puts it, “it’s a normal green during the day”.

It’s not just sustainable in the sense of storing energy from light. It’s also solved one of the biggest problems in sourcing insulation components: avoiding animal cruelty.

“Made from 100% recycled plastic bottles the engineered microfibres are so light and puffy that they trap enough heat next round your head to recreate the warmth of real down, without needing to pull feathers out of ducks or geese. And while down will clump and stop insulating if it gets wet, the synthetic fibres will continue keeping you warm even in damp conditions.”

The post Vollebak’s New Solar Charged Hat Is Perfect for Spelunking first appeared on Yanko Design.

Native Union’s Sleek (Re)Classic Apple Watch Bands Are Made of Plant-Based Leather

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If you’re an iPhone user with a taste for leather cases, you might already know all about Native Union’s knack for designing high-quality accessories, like their leather MagSafe iPhone 14 case, made in collaboration with Maison Kitsuné. Now there’s a similar cruelty-free Italian leather-inspired band for your Apple Watch. It’s made of Yatay, a leather-like compound that makes up the construction of Native Union’s gorgeous (Re)Classic Apple Watch Band design, and you can get your own for $59.99.

Designer: Native Union

Buy it now on Amazon

If you told me the (Re)Classic Band for Apple Watch in its light brown Kraft colorway was made of repurposed mycelium — fungal threads spanning long distances underground, which mushrooms blossom out of — I absolutely would not believe you. And yet, that’s one of the many all-natural resources used in the synthesis of Yatay by Coronet.

It sounds like everything from Native Union’s stainless steel clasp to its comfortable, soft-lined backing is made of recycled materials. (Re)Classic style is finely textured, giving it a sophisticated look that does quite a bit to distract from the fact it… isn’t made of genuine leather. Still, the high level of craftsmanship lent to these intricately-designed plant-based leather wristbands is difficult to deny.

All of Native Union’s straps come with integrated lugs, which connect directly to the Apple Watch — specifically, the little cutouts on the top and bottom of the Apple Watch where a wristband is locked in place. That means they blend naturally with any color configuration, and Native Union really wants to emphasize how important that is, citing the integrated lugs as a central focal point of (Re)Classic design ethos on its official product page:

“We designed (Re)Classic Band to match the textured elegance of (Re)Classic Case for iPhone and AirPods, now for your Apple Watch. Made to be a refined complement to your digital timepiece, we went one step further with fully wrapped integrated lugs so that the straps becomes a seamless extension of your Apple Watch without any visible hardware. A leather-like strap with wrapped lugs is something we’ve been searching for for a while now, so we made it ourselves.”

If you own one of the older Apple Watch Series, don’t worry: these bands come in two sizes that are compatible with every main-line Apple Watch model, depending on the size you wear. Though, you’ll want to specifically order the 38/40/41mm configuration if you’re rocking an Apple Watch SE or SE 2. And likewise, you’ll want to go for the 42/44/45mm measurement if you’re planning to attach one of these fine wristbands to an Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 4.

The post Native Union’s Sleek (Re)Classic Apple Watch Bands Are Made of Plant-Based Leather first appeared on Yanko Design.

Meet The Strongest Belt Ever Made – The Indestructible Belt By Vollebak

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Vollebak is known for its ground-breaking and absolutely mindblowing designs such as the Indestructible Puffer which is built from the same material as body armor or the Deep Sleep Cocoon that can lull you to sleep on Mars and Earth! In lieu of their ingenious and highly successful designs, Vollebak has also launched the Indestructible Belt. Right off the bat, they’re claiming that the Indestructible Belt is the strongest belt ever made! Color us intrigued! It is designed to be not only a true marvel in engineering but also a major fashion statement that will definitely grab eyeballs.

Designer: Vollebak

The Indestructible Belt is built with the ultimate strong core which is made from Dyneema – the single strongest fiber known to man today. Vollebak uses Dyneema in its Indestructible range. Dyneema is supposed to be 15x stronger than steel, which basically signifies that the belt strap is only breakable if you hang more than 4 tonnes of it, which is essentially the same weight as a Hummer or 10 grizzly bears. It is a game-changer for people who need their belts to be extremely durable and strong, but also dashingly handsome.

Vollebak teamed up the powerful Dyneema strap with a COBRA® buckle which is supposed to be the strongest and safest buckle on the planet. The buckle is engineered with a patented locking mechanism, ensuring that the buckle never releases under pressure, and can tolerate 1.8 tonnes of force before it breaks apart. Every Indestructible Belt is built using 12 rows of ultra-strong bonded thread, and an engraved metal tip by Riri which features a custom anodized metal case equipped with a 3D printed latch – making it a class apart from your ordinary everyday belt, to be honest, the two cannot even be compared. The Indestructible Belt is designed to withstand the harshest of conditions!

The Indestructible Belt is crafted in France, and it completely pushes the boundaries of fashion and functionality, to create an exceedingly innovative product that we have truly never seen before. It is priced at $395 and is the ultimate accessory you have been looking for. It packs a punch with both style and safety.

The post Meet The Strongest Belt Ever Made – The Indestructible Belt By Vollebak first appeared on Yanko Design.