Apparel Design Director Bella Hepworth gives her thoughts on building the Prevayl® garments, the importance behind Prevayl’s IP and the growing demand for smart-clothing.
How does being an apparel design director at Prevayl differ from your previous roles?
The role at Prevayl is completely different. Not only in the performance demanded from the end product, but the disciplines with which we work collaboratively on delivering it.
Designing to accommodate hardware and software is not present in your standard garment design process and has been an exciting and enlightening learning curve.
You are one of the leading inventors at Prevayl, why is IP important in the process of design?
The work that we do to deliver on Prevayl’s core USP of comfort and desirability of the garment means that we have to go beyond design. It is problem solving by innovation and invention.
There is nothing else in the market like it, so IP is integral to that process. Not only from the design side feeding into IP, but we have a great IP team that support us contributing research and perspectives which encourage us to think beyond the immediate problems we are trying to solve.
How does smart clothing differ to what you have previously done, and why was this an area you decided to go into?
I have always worked in functional design with mechanical performance (ie fabric, form and construction) as well as sophisticated aesthetic.
However, smart clothing adds somewhat of a 3rd dimension to this in that we need data performance and this has its own set of rules to adhere to in order to deliver.
It’s quite a balancing act to get the three working harmoniously and I guess it is that challenge that draws me to this type of project.
How do you see the Prevayl garments changing the world of health and athleisure?
Prevayl has the potential to change not only health and athleisure, but the way we fundamentally live our lives.
Prevayl garments have the ability to narrow the gap between wearable tech, althleisure and RTW by enabling all sectors equally.
The consumer is not required to make a conscience lifestyle choice to engage in a workout to get invaluable insights into their health and wellbeing. It will be a more effortless integral aspect of their day to day living with Prevayl technology hidden within their work, leisure and workout wardrobes.
If everyone had access to this sort of 360° health and wellbeing insight, who knows what, as a community, we could gain in terms of greater understanding of the human body and mind.
How did you start to tackle the mammoth task that was bringing CEO Adam’s creation to life?
For me personally the first task was educating myself on the hardware and software sides and working with the teams respectively to understand where their disciplines interact with and impact the garments.
Then it was identifying the problems that had prevented anyone from successfully delivering connected clothing that was consumer friendly before…of which there were many.
Key to Prevayl’s USP and solution driven work was reducing that impact that the tech had on the garments. From a consumer perspective, the garments needed to look and handle like any other none connected garment, which I am pleased to say we have done pretty successfully.
It really has been a collective effort from everyone and without that collaborative approach, no one team could have delivered alone.
It is predicted that the smart clothing industry will be worth 5.3Bn by 2024, why do you think there is now a market want and need for connected clothing?
I think there has been a positive cultural movement towards health and its impact on wellbeing in recent years. People are looking for ways to actively lead happier and healthier lives.
Technology has bought with it a revolution in autonomous choice that gives us more fulfilment. For example, what, when, where and how we choose to consume entertainment, socialise and/or spend our disposable income. Even what, when, where and how we choose to work outside of the conventional 9-5.
I think there is an expectation to see the same evolution in what we wear and how we wear it that can bring us more fulfilment.
Prevayl’s response to this is to provide desirable connected clothing which enables a more autonomous approach to our choices with regards to health and wellbeing.
How does it feel seeing the finished, working product after a year of development?
It’s pretty mind blowing seeing the work of all the teams coming together. What’s amazing is that from the outside the garment, the puck and the app all looks so simple, effortless and easy to use.
No signs of the mammoth amount of problem solving and troubleshooting that has gone into delivering it. That for me is the epitome of great design.
What’s next for Prevayl?
Prevayl started with a huge vision and what we have now is just the first steppingstone to achieve that vison. We have so many ideas and new inventions that we are keen to integrate as the technology evolves and the product offering increases.
The journey has just begun, and the possibilities are endless.