In yesterday's post we looked at the work of an interior design duo wondering if their collections of textiles will be translated into fashion sometime soon. There are architectural studios after all that have already made that transition in interesting ways.
The late Zaha Hadid designed for example bags, shoes and jewellery, and her team is continuining along the same lines and has recently come up with a capsule collection in collaboration with Odlo.
Founded in Oslo in 1946 by Odd Roar Lofterød Senior, Odlo Fabrikker A/S first started manufacturing ladies' underwear. Inspired by his son who was training with the Norwegian junior speed skating team and by the shortage of materials available, Odd Roar designed a new kind of training suit using Helanca synthetic fibre.
More high-performance suits for cross-country skiers and speed skaters followed in the '60s: they became rather popular and, by the time the Winter Olympics in Sapporo came around in 1972, there were 22 national teams competing in Odlo gear.
Functional sports underwear was launched in the '70s and new developments arrived in the following decade with the Athletic Clothing System, based on the three-layer principle (underwear, designed to ensure optimum moisture management; a second layer helping to regulate the wearer's temperature, and a third layer providing protection from wind and rain).
More recently Odlo has been focusing on ultra-lightweight knitted fabrics for sports underwear and seamless underwear made from 100% recyclable material.
The key to all the garments produced by this company is planning them from the skin up to guarantee maximum comfort to the wearer.
That's the principle also behind the Spring/Summer 19 Women's Activewear collection, developed with Zaha Hadid Design.
Fans of the architect will definitely recognise in some of the motifs and shapes characterising the collection Zaha Hadid's parametric architectures.
Based around the theme "Layered Space", the garments included in this collection – a translucent parka with a polyamide perforated structure for ventilation, tights made with the warp knit technology and bralette integrating bio-centric body-mapping – perfectly adapt to the anatomy and physiology of the human body. All the pieces, as suggested by the theme behind them, are made with Odlo's layering technique.
The research behind these pieces was focused on developing an organic body mapping approach in partnership with Zaha Hadid Designs. The garments feature organic ventilation zones shaped to follow the real human body needs, delivering an ergonomic breathability and perfect moisture management, while Innovative Motion Design ensures full movement and no restriction during sports activities. Climate control is also enhanced as the body stays warm in cold conditions thanks to warm zones in key areas. This combination of engineering and design offers the wearer a natural freedom of movement for various sports activities.
Despite this collaboration may sound unusual (usually architects collaborate with sportswear companies designing shops or sets for unique presentations rather than clothes), this is actually Odlo's second collaboration with Zaha Hadid Design. Last year the sportswear brand and Zaha Hadid Design unveiled indeed the Futureskin, a new technically advanced seamless baselayer for winter performance sports (for both men and women) based on the principles of body mapping. 
So far this unusual collaboration has worked rather well especially because there are strong similarities between Odlo and Zaha Hadid's team (the former is known for its experimental designs often made employing the seamless technique; the late architect was known for her designs characterised by sinuous curves and shapes…).
The S/S 19 Women's Activewear collection marks a new venture for highly researched technical garments: who knows, maybe sportswear designed by a famous brand in collaboration with a starchitect will appear in future at an architecture biennale in a dedicated space where visitors can train and exercise while contemplating the potential of buildings as living bodies and pondering on the architecture of their bodies.
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