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| CREATIVE: |
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| COMOYOKO |
| DESIGNED |
FreshBritain | Glenn Kitson | Neil Bedford | Mark Smith |
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CMYK: A COLOUR MODEL USED IN PRINTING, CMYK STANDS FOR CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW AND
BLACK ( KEYPLATE ), IT WORKS BY COMBINING AND INTERCHANGING COLOURS TO CREATE
CLARITY ON A WHITE BACKGROUND, A BLANK CANVAS.
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COMOYOKO is a brand that offers a new concept in mountain wear
using elements of the CMYK concept, applying a flexible
approach to design but always starting from an unprejudiced,
blank canvas.
Designed to protect those working on the mountain, COMOYOKO
offers a stripped back, no-nonsense solution that is as pure as
the snowy terrain it is intended for. For mountain rescue,
helicopter crews, patrols and alpine police, it was born out of a
desire to be an asset to those people in terms of function but
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also more importantly, safety. COMOYOKO aims to give the best
and to be the best.
Through extensive research they have come up with a way of
providing mountain professionals with the best tools of their
trade, lightweight durable garments with safety and comfort as
key. Using the best, most advanced technical fabrics and the
newest technology, COMOYOKO is all about function. They do
this by stripping back received wisdom and previous practice
and starting their design process from scratch.
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PART [1/2]
GLENN KITSON: FreshBritain design director Steve Laverty
explains the thinking behind the name.
STEVE LAVERTY: The name came about from a discussion
with people who I work with about an idea for a brand. We
wanted a name that in theory carried as simple a meaning as
possible. I mean in the sense that it conveyed ‘absolute clarity’,
so the name is basically the print breakdown of white (CMYK).
It is clean it is ‘blank’. When we were asked to develop this
totally functional, purposeful mountain rescue range we knew
COMOYOKO was perfect for it.
So echoing the clear and considered approach to their designs,
the name is something without any superfluous aspect to it.
There isn’t meant to be any outside connotations and this is
what a mountain rescue brand needed. Everything has its
functional use with nothing unnecessary or ‘for show’. There is
nothing there that doesn’t need to be there.
GK: It was important too for their logo to convey the same
unfussy message.
SL: The logo design references a similar feel in terms of
aesthetics, which was functional design for the military. We
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looked at information that isn’t designed as such. An example
of this is the triangle signs they put on the side of jets informing
you where the fuel gauge is. It’s there for a good reason.
Another example is the numbers you see on trains that aren’t
necessarily designed yet still mean something. Like a code,
so the direction was taken from that idea, a cross with four
circles ‘C0M0Y0K0’.
In other words, an uncompromising ethos of function before
form.
Initially the COMOYOKO designers travelled to St Anton, Austria
and spent some time on the mountain researching just what
the mountain professionals working there needed in terms of
functionality. The design team asked them what they needed
and what they didn’t need and then went on to find solutions to
their requests.
The desire for keeping things as lightweight as possible
emerged as a paramount consideration. COMOYOKO examined
what mountain professionals carried as they went about their
work; shovels, GPS equipment, things that existed because of
safety considerations. Following their trip to Austria, a report
was put together and from this a vision of what the collection
should look like was created.
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PART [2/2]
The designers told us more.
“We looked at everything, from the kind of pockets they would
need, for example some with lining, some without. We also
considered the use of specific colours and reflective details,
where they should be on a garment and why. Basically, we
approached them and asked ‘what could you have if anything
was possible?”
“They didn’t really know what was possible, perhaps they were
used to having to ‘make do’ with limited or outdated clothing.
As a result it took a lot of coaxing on our part to draw this
information from them. We had to encourage them to think with
an open mind and start from a blank canvas, just as we would.”
“The stuff they were used to was very bad, outdated and old.
Heavy, sweaty jackets and trousers made from tough, rough
CORDURA fabric that made it difficult for them to move around.
One thing they did request in particular was breathability.
To be honest we were quite surprised at the lack of suitability
in the stuff they actually had. They would sweat all day to
the point of discomfort. In the end they would go out in
helicopters without taking their jackets and use their make
shift straps and accessories to tie all their tools and equipment
onto themselves because their jackets were just too big and
annoying. This isn’t ideal at all and it was our challenge to
remedy the situation.”
“This feedback once again proved invaluable. It led us to look
at stretchabilty. We brought in four-way stretch fabrics, which
were also ultra-lightweight. We added ventilation and made
things more breathable, all without compromising on the other
functional aspects required for extreme weather conditions.”
In addition to making clothing more comfortable and durable,
when COMOYOKO studied the different kinds of mountain
vocations it was important to analyse the full range of aerobic
intensity to ensure the delivery of both a functional and
accurate solution. For instance during a mountain rescue,
members of the extraction teams tend to exert a considerably
higher amount of energy and would naturally keep warmer
than say the pilot. We had to design clothing that would cover
all their needs. To make something fit for purpose was a
challenge but COMOYOKO addressed this by designing a
variation of layers that included options on shells, down mid
layers and base layers. All of these were specific solutions
to each mountain profession.
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Another example of applying function to clothing came once
again via research in Austria. Nearly everyone had a requirement
to wear a rucksack so COMOYOKO applied this consideration to
their designs. They created a jacket that would always fit with a
rucksack and would be made from the same fabric as the
clothing. This meant the two could always work together.
Certain professions such as the ground staff wouldn’t always
have a need to carry a rucksack though, so COMOYOKO looked
at a different solution. They designed a jacket with a large
amount of pockets, each with a purpose in mind and based on
their equipment. This is in contrast to mountain rescue workers
who did not need lots of pockets and instead they put everything
into their rucksacks and kept their jackets as light as possible.
In total a collection comprising of 10 pieces was designed.
Together, the collection aimed to cover all the mountain
professional’s needs, from rucksacks and jackets, to trousers
and base layers, all much more considered than before and yet
with no surplus detailing or overdesign.
Shape and design were one aspect but the marriage between
this and the best fabrics available is what sets COMOYOKO
apart from the rest. Using four-way stretch, abrasion
proof fabrics and C-change, a waterproof and windproof
temperature adaptive material developed and produced by
Schoeller Textiles (C-change material contains a membrane
layer, which is set to a predetermined temperature range.
Depending on the situation it is both naturally cooling and
designed to preserve body heat).
Every possible mountain situation is worked into an amazing
collection of clothing.
The knowledge that comes from research fused with the best
available technology is complimented by unrivalled expertise
in clothing construction, particularly for the sports performance
market. Working with KTC in China, COMOYOKO utilises their
extensive experience and time-served expertise. KTC has
amassed years of experience working on sports performance
garments so once research had been conducted and designs
had been drafted, COMOYOKO worked closely with KTC, liaising
with them during development with an aim to make the garments
and the collection on a whole more practical and functional.
While the processes behind COMOYOKO is ultra-comprehensive
the theme behind what they do remains the same and fits
perfectly with the concept behind their name. The whole idea of
C0M0Y0K0 is to strip everything right back to the idea of function
to achieve an uncommon clarity.
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