OutlierByBorre

A couple years ago we decide it was time to take a break from doing collaborations with other brands, they always seem to lead to too much compromise and not enough transcendence. But when our friend Borre Akkersdijk dropped by our studio over the winter we knew it was time to make an exception.

Hooded Jacket G3 black & blue woven combo (KILLER PIECE)

There really is no other brand out there like Byborre, a brand built around a deep integration of product and the fabric production process. At the heart of their studio is a custom developed “pixel knit” software that allows them to control high end Santoni circular knitting machines with remarkable precision in three dimensions. At the center of their workspace in Amsterdam is a full production version of one these machines, allowing them to both rapidly prototype knits and produce the actual production fabric, right there in house. It’s a setup that allows them to made fabrics unlike any others in the world and being the fabric geeks we are we knew we needed to work with them.

The Outlier Byborre Snap Bandana takes three newly developed iterations on Byborre’s signature three layer, three dimensional insulated knit, and combines them with an updated version of our Snap Bandana form (also available: the Alphacharge Snap Bandana and the Strongwool Snap Bandana). The results highlight the deep beauty of Byborre’s pixel knit process, with different colored yarns combining to create pattern, texture, color depth and three dimensional structure. Lava Flow combines cracks of bright orange on a field of dark navy, green and purple yarns that combine to look like deep shadow with lines of lava between. Galaxy is the most discrete black, dark green, purple and amber yarns combine like an impressionist painting to create a navy blue like field that appears almost solid from most distances but quite distinct up close. Nightdrive flows in-between the two, streaks of white and amber flash like headlamp trails on a dark highway across a ground of darkness.

The hidden secret of the Byborre fabrics though is the special polyester insulation yarn that lies sandwiched between two layers of cotton. This yarn is mapped carefully throughout the fabric creating subtle variations of depth, these are truly three dimensional textiles. More than that the yarn, which was originally developed for carpets is designed to slowly soften and expand over time so the textiles age with grace, taking on new character as its worn, used and abused.

being the fabric geeks we are we knew we needed to work with them

Test

To make these Snap Bandanas happen we started with the original Alphacharge version, and subtly tweaked the form and magno-mechanical Fidlock closure to work better with the Byborre knits. We then handed off the shape to Borre and company in Amsterdam where they custom engineered all three patterns to work together in one run of the machine. The combination of their pixel knit software with the Santoni machines creates an almost zero waste process where almost every inch of fabric can be utilize. Once the designs were finalized they were knit almost overnight in Amsterdam and then sent back to us in New York where we finished the edges and added the magno-mechanical Fidlocks closures.

The end result is simple and beautiful. A three layer, lightly insulated knit, that protects the neck and or face throughout the cooler months. The adjustable closure allows for a range of fits, secures quickly and comes off with one rapid motion. We tend to spend the cooler six months of the year with a Snap Bandana constantly either in our pockets of around our neck, it’s a lightweight, compact and adjustable piece of warmth for the neck and face and it’s damn near indispensable.