Identity area
Reference code
2022.92.5
Title
Vollebak Condition Black Ceramic Jacket
Date(s)
- 2015 (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
1
Context area
Name of creator
(2015-)
Administrative history
Vollebak is a London-based technical outerwear and sportswear brand founded in 2015 by twin brothers Nick and Steve Tidball (b. 1979). They previously worked together in advertising as an art director and copywriter team. This experience has informed the brand’s emphasis on single product launches rather than collections, and garments designed with specific functions or material properties. Designs have included the world’s first graphene jacket, a carbon fibre T-shirt, a solar-charged jacket that stores and re-emits light, a 100-year hoodie and a full metal jacket woven from over 11 kilometres of copper yarn. Time magazine named Vollebak’s solar-charged jacket one of the best inventions of 2018 and their full metal jacket one of the best inventions of 2020. In 2019 Satish Tailor (b. 1972) was appointed head of design, and in 2022 Vollebak received an undisclosed amount from the BFC Venrex Fashion Fund.
Sources: Wired UK.
Sources: Wired UK.
Repository
Archival history
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Content and structure area
Scope and content
Hooded, zip fronted sports jacket made from an elastane; polyester; polyurethane and polyamide mix. Sections of the sleeves, side seams, hem and hood of the jacket are made from ceramic resin. Jacket has vertical, in seam pockets with zip fastenings on either side of the waist; and a vertical, zip fastening pocket on the inside left of the chest. There are also angled hand openings with magnetic closures, high up on either side of the chest. On the left sleeve is written the instructions, 'Fasten hood shut; Place hands securely in shoulder pockets; Grip fingertips over shoulders; Pull knees up to chest.'
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
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Conditions of access and use area
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Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Label: Vollebak / Condition Black / Made in Portugal / S / The military elite have a term for your physical and mental state during life and death situations - moments in which your subconscious must choose between fight or flight. They call it 'condition black.' The colour code for 'you're about to die.' This Condition Black jacket is built to survive these extreme experiences and help keep you alive in the aftermath. Constructed using highly resilient, military grade materials, the ceramic outer skin can survive falls up to 120kmph across any surface. And in the event of disaster, two survival pockets get you into the ideal body position to stop your vital organs shutting down.
Material: Elastane; Ceramic Resin; Polyester; Polyurethane; Polyamide
Measurements: 54cm [Chest]; 72cm [Length]
Details: Zip front; hood
Physical Condition: Good
Material: Elastane; Ceramic Resin; Polyester; Polyurethane; Polyamide
Measurements: 54cm [Chest]; 72cm [Length]
Details: Zip front; hood
Physical Condition: Good
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
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Notes area
Note
Ideal for extreme snow sports, but also worn by people for biking / general adventure use. The fabric doesn’t tear or rip at speeds of up to 120kmph [as tested by Schoeller]. The fabric retains heat so well because the ceramic doesn’t let heat out easily as opposed to other fabrics so is also designed with survival in extreme conditions in mind.
Note
The highly experimental construction process for this jacket was so technically complex it’s not possible to produce another run - it broke needles at the factory because the ceramic is so hard