A BRA FOR THE FUTURE 

In the 21st century, the majority of the world’s population will be living in urban environments. In fact, the United Nations estimates that 66% of us will be living in cities by 2050. At Eva x Carola, we want to design products that cater for this future lifestyle - multifunctional products that are tailored to the urban environment and can be worn for all occasions, from training to travelling to work.
As we mentioned in our last blog post, we believe that today’s garments should enhance a person’s body and their experience as they move. They should be tailored to an individual’s needs, using data-driven design techniques. Following on from this idea, our next phase will be to design some new essentials using these principles.  

THE SPORTS BRA 

We’d like to introduce you to the first garment in this new breed of our designs: the sports bra. This is a garment that is, by nature, extremely personal. It can vary in many ways; not just in function, size, and style, but also in terms of how it’s worn and the type of support it needs to offer. It’s also a garment that’s becoming more and more popular with today’s consumers - a 2015 survey by the NPD Group showed that 41% of millennials had worn a sports bra in the previous week. This highlights a growing trend amongst younger women that favours the sports bra over the traditional padded push-up bra. Put simply, the sports bra is undergoing a fascinating metamorphosis – it is becoming a garment that is worn for all occasions, regardless of whether a person is working out or not. 

 A NEW TYPE OF BRA

With these changes in mind, we have created a bra that not only looks good but also provides the optimal level of support and comfort to consumers, taking the current sports bra trend one step further. We’ve been carefully analysing the needs of the wearer and incorporating them into the design of this garment. We’ve also been using body mapping techniques to engineer zones for temperature regulation, sweat, movement, and support, in collaboration with Santoni Shanghai’s seamless knitting technology. This data-driven design process helps us to decide which textures are placed where in the garment. Our aim? To rethink the current construction of the bra to provide better values for comfort, energy and power.  

SEAMLESS CONSTRUCTION

So, how have we developed our essential bra? For a start, seamless knitting has been key to creating this product. This is a sustainable, all-in-one approach that not only avoids irritation but also helps to create that all-important “second skin” feeling. The technique allows us to shape the design seamlessly to each body type. To create an amazing look and an ultra-light feel, we use PP yarn from Aquafil, a material that hugs and supports the natural form of the body. 

Firstly, we provide a physically supportive bra that can also be mentally pleasing, helping the wearer in all stages. Through engineering each individual stitch, we were able to build levels of support throughout the bra, allowing us to facilitate movement where the body requires it. As a result, the garment moves freely with the body rather than fighting against it. 

Another advantage is that, through stitch-by-stitch design, we were able to eliminate the under wiring that is commonly used in bras, thereby decreasing the weight and making a lighter, more supportive bra. 

By revising construction and pattern-making, we were able to adjust the number of panel pieces normally used to make a bra, creating a highly engineered single-piece supportive bra. We achieved this by rethinking the nature of support. We realised that through smarter, more sustainable design, we could help the wearer to feel more comfortable.   

Eva x Carola’s essential bra is therefore a garment for the
new age. Once our vision of customisable seamless production becomes a reality,
it will usher in a brand-new era – one where women everywhere can enjoy a bra
that has been truly tailored to their needs.

We’d be delighted to hear from anyone wishing to collaborate with us on this journey or, if you are interested in wear testing with us, we invite you to get in touch to discuss things further. Simply drop us an email to studio@evaxcarola.com and tell us how you’d like to get involved. 

Credits 

Concept, Design and Development - Studio Eva x Carola 

In collaboration with SPINEXPO 

Manufacturing and Knitting expertise - Santoni Shanghai 

Yarns - among others Invista, Aquafil and Nilit 

Images - House of Iceberg

EACH ELEMENT CONSIDERED

 In today’s fast-moving world, consumers are bombarded with a constant supply of new sportswear and sportswear brands. The lines between fashion and sportswear have become blurred, leading to garments that are disposable and unsustainable. Often, the resulting products do little to address the performance needs of the athlete. 

 How do we overcome these issues? We have the answer: sportswear that is designed from an intellectual perspective, with the user always in mind. We believe that in order to deliver true value to athletes, garments must be specifically tailored to their needs. So, we focus on creating clothes that can be fully customised to enhance a person’s body and their experience as they move.  

CUSTOMISABLE PERFORMANCE

When making performance wear, the first thing we do is analyse the body to determine how a garment can benefit the athlete. We ask ourselves: which functions need to be placed where in the garment, and what other considerations do we need to keep in mind? Some of the features we want to incorporate into our designs include: 

 • Compression that not only feeds muscles, but feels light and invigorating, whilst remaining breathable 

 • Comfort in the areas where the skin is sensitive, providing a good fit so that the body can move freely 

 • Shape that corrects body position and promotes an active posture, whilst remaining lightweight 

 Combining these elements means we need to produce a garment that fulfils several different needs at once. To achieve this, we use a collection of different functional yarns in combination with different machine settings. Designs are then body mapped so that they work together seamlessly.  

STITCH-BY-STITCH ENGINEERING

To create different functions within one seamless knitted garment, we engineer textures that have different values. We do this by adjusting elements such as yarns, needles, machine settings, tension and the way the texture Is built. 

 Textures and functions can be engineered on a stitch-by-stitch level, and can be seamlessly combined when knitting the garment in one go. We can then test and measure these textures against metrics like “Power”, “Comfort” and “Energy”: 

 • Power: the performance delivered by the garment’s fabric 

 • Energy: the energy exerted by the body as a result of garment composition 

 • Comfort: the “second skin” effect 

We assess these performance values and adjust them where needed by selecting different yarns or adjusting knit stitch settings. By increasing the restriction of the texture, for example, we can increase the energy levels of its performance, making the garment suitable for training and cross fit. By contrast, lowering the restriction and the energy levels makes the garment more suitable for competition. 

To learn more, you can watch our video The Beauty of Making below. For the latest information and images from Studio Eva x Carola, follow us on Instagram @evaxcarola.

Credits

Concept, Design and Development - Studio Eva x Carola

In collaboration with SPINEXPO

Manufacturing and Knitting expertise - Santoni Shanghai

Yarns - among others Invista, Aquafil and Nilit

Moving Images - House of Iceberg

Concerns about the constantly changing and uncertain world we live in can influence our emotional state and how our bodies function. We may feel distracted, vulnerable or desire escapism. 

How can we reconnect with ourselves, feel better equipped to face challenges and channel our energy into positive thoughts? 

Our activewear capsule ‘Beauty of Creation’ responds to these challenges. We explore ways to recharge whilst sleeping, feel empowered when exercising and focus the mind during down time.

The capsule is organised into three concepts:

AUTHENTICITY

Authenticity takes inspiration from our body and how the skin is constructed, functions and heals. How can we protect our skin and nurture it? How can we prevent the change of the skin structure caused by the ageing process, stress and exposure to sunlight, among other factors? 

We combine our findings on Langer lines (the natural orientation of wrinkle development) with health yarns that nourish the skin. The result is innovative concepts and developments for sleepwear: clothing and materials that are able to re-activate, heal and protect our skin. 

AUGMENTED

Augmented is based on a cross discipline whereby the use of machines enhance the ability of handmade techniques. Precise working methods and performance analysis lead to a more functional garment. This pleases intellectually as it is designed for purpose. 

Augmented garments enhance the wearer’s ability to perform. Advanced knitting techniques improve aerodynamics and buoyancy. Support, ventilation and compression give the wearer a ‘super human’ feeling.

ILLUSION

Illusion combines hand, machine and technology expertise to manipulate the senses and achieve a desired imaginary outcome. Fabric, form, touch and colour of the product are exploited to create a beautiful conscious illusion. Textile stimuli trick our senses leading the user to experience escapism.