emotional-sportswear

EMOTIONAL SPORTSWEAR, 2020

An exploration of endurance and innovation in triathlon wear, focused on thermoregulation and designed with professional athletes.

CONCEPT

Emotional Sportswear is an investigation into human’s endurance, looking at enhancing and supporting the physical as well as mental performance of athletes. Focusing on how innovative cooling solutions can improve human performance. Being a competing triathlete, I have designed the presented collection of professional performance gear working closely with

professional competing triathletes while conducting a series of interviews and testing sessions. With my previous background in Womenswear design, I approached the collection considering the nature of being female in a male-dominated sports industry through introducing an emotional, subtle view on performance sportswear.

CONTENT

RESEARCH

DEVELOPMENT

MATERIAL CHOICES

TESTING

FINAL PROJECT

EMOTIONAL SPORTSWEAR

Research

The starting point to this project was an interview with my triathlon coach Bogumil Gluszkowski, who used to be a World Ironman champion. His words beautifully sum up why I chose to connect triathlon with my design practice : For me both art and sport have this dimension where you can keep improving yourself infinitely.

Development

My main research focus was the importance of thermoregulation in performance sportswear, focusing on developing innovative cooling solutions like seamless cooling triathlon suits and pre-race/recovery cooling garments.

Material choices

Collection explores pattern cutting techniques and fabric development that allow more movement, second skin fit, no seam chafing. Innovative cooling materials, structures and fabrics that follow and adjust with the athlete’s movements.

Testing

I have worked closely with Marta Dzieciatkowska, a professional triathlete in the Polish Triathlon Team who finished 7th in the Women’s Triathlon at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. I have interviewed her and also tested my final prototypes with her, which was priceless to development of female-centred designs

Final project

The products are created to not disturb the athletes with any outside factors and to keep them in an optimal state where they can focus on being present in the moment and move beyond their limits.

Emotional Sportswear