How many jackets do you need to get through all the shifts in temperature during fall and winter? The moment may have arrived where just one jacket will do. And how cool would it be if everyone could optimise the warmth of their jacket individually and adapt it to their personal feel-good factor? And all in a product without compromises, where sophisticated design and intelligent fabrics join forces with technological competence? For this ambitious aim, these three leading companies put their heads and their core competencies together.
The Heatable Capsule Collection is on its way
Today, Telekom, AlphaTauri and Schoeller are launching a technological innovation together: the Heatable Capsule Collection. While Telekom is bringing its technological components to the table, AlphaTauri designed the collection and Schoeller developed the heating technologies and fabrics as well as the electronic components. The Heatable Capsule Collection kicks off with a jacket and a gilet in two different colourways. Wearers decide the level of warmth for themselves in the jacket or gilet. The clothing items are operated by app. Individual zones around the pocket and kidney areas can be heated.
The collection, for men and women, targets the lifestyle and technology-oriented consumer segment, the so-called “urban explorer”. The apparel is cross-seasonal, suitable for all cooler types of weather, and practical when travelling, hiking or for other sports. The partially heatable gilet can be worn alone or under a jacket.
The ideal feel-good temperature can be selected from two heating levels in the jacket and gilet. Thanks to Schoeller® E-Soft-Shell heating technology the heat function is completely integrated into the fabric and localised as close as possible to the wearer’s body. Beyond that, the inbuilt sensors can measure the microclimate temperature inside the jacket.
The jacket is already being further developed with additional features, where connectivity and AI will become increasingly relevant.
Cooperation demonstrates the best of three worlds
With the Heatable Capsule Collection the collaborative partners demonstrate how, through connectivity, fashion can be profitably developed for the customer.
As the leading European company for telecommunications, Telekom is responsible for the technology. This includes the app, with which the user can adjust the warmth levels in their jacket individually. If the heating function isn’t needed, the integrated power bank can be used to charge a smartphone when you’re on the go.
Thanks to its functionality and smart features, AlphaTauri inspires as the “stand-alone” fashion label by Red Bull. Intelligent designs with a high feel-good factor and urban styling are what characterise the collections by AlphaTauri.
Schoeller rounds the cooperation off with its innovative textiles and technologies. As an experienced “smart textiles” company, Schoeller is responsible for the E-Soft-Shell heating technology as well as all fabrics and electronics used in the collection. The centrepiece of the heating technology is a heatable fabric lining with an integrated network of conductive yarns. The construction allows a customized definition of textile-integrated heating areas. In combination with other Schoeller fabrics and technologies, like corkshellTM for additional thermal insulation, combined with fine-tuned electronics, the result is a high performance material concept that sets new benchmarks with regards to heatable apparel.
Patron of the Heatable Capsule Collection: Telekom Fashion Fusion
The Heatable Capsule Collection was created as part of Telekom’s Fashion Fusion Programme. Whereas in the past, the emphasis had been on the sponsorship of talent in the development of innovative prototypes in cooperation with a variety of events like the IFA and the #Fashiontech Conference, in 2019 for the first time they took on the development of market-ready products.
Antje Hundhausen, Founder Telekom Fashion Fusion and VP Brand Experience, Telekom: “We want to offer customers products with genuine added value. On the path to being a digital lifestyle brand we are continually working on the improvement of individual lifestyles. The Heatable Capsule Collection is a beginning, to revolutionise fashion through technology. It makes the day to day – regardless of weather – more comfortable and makes fashion more interesting. The 5G technology will be capable of networking everything in the next few years, creating opportunities for fascinating uses. Because even fashion can profit from technology.”
Ahmet Mercan, Head of Global Consumer Products at Red Bull and General Manager of AlphaTauri: „Innovation is key, for AlphaTauri! The Heatable Capsule Collection is an example of how true value can be created for the customer thanks to the respective expertise and a shared-mind set: only when players are willing to question the status quo, can something new and innovative be created. This collectively created capsule also showcases the AlphaTauri design signature: a fusion of fashion, function and innovative features with added value for the consumer!”
Siegfried Winkelbeiner, CEO von Schoeller Textil AG: “We are proud to have made a significant contribution to the functionality of the collection with our E- Soft-Shell heating technology and our innovative textiles and technologies. For Schoeller, smart textiles are a strategic focus for an exciting textile future. For us the cooperation was a great learning experience and our first opportunity to provide the heating technology for a commercial product.”
Facts for the sales launch
The Heatable Capsule Collection will be available online from AlphaTauri and Telekom as well as in AlphaTauri stores and from selected retailers from the AW20 season. The jackets and gilets are available in two colourways in sizes S - XXL for men and XS – XS for women and cost €699,90 (Jacket) and €399,90 (Gilet).
About Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom Company Profile
ABOUT TELEKOM FASHION FUSION
Fashion Fusion is the programme at the interface between fashion and technology, turning visionary concepts into reality. Fashion Fusion began as Telekom’s competition of ideas. The programme arose from the desire to develop new technologically optimised fashion, wearable technologies and everything in between. The aim of Fashion Fusion is to create revolutionary solutions and formats by bringing together combined expertise in a collaborative space, setting new benchmarks for intelligent fashion.
ABOUT ALPHATAURI
AlphaTauri, the fashion label founded by Red Bull, is forging its own path in the world of fashion and blends fashion and functionality. The brand’s collections bring added value to the consumer through innovative functionality and their own developed technologies, implemented with high-quality materials for stylish clothing. For example, Taurex®, a groundbreaking textile technology that returns the energy created by infrared rays given off by the body to the wearer, inducing a positive effect for the body. The brand combines pioneering textile innovations, target oriented design and high-quality materials, offering added value for body and spirit. Since the introduction of the stand-alone fashion brand by Red Bull at the end of 2016, AlphaTauri has been based on an holistic approach: From the design to the development and marketing down to the distribution everything is coordinated in-house in cooperation with leading experts for production and technologies like Schoeller Textil from Switzerland. AlphaTauri is available in its retail stores in Graz and Salzburg as well as at selected wholesales and online under alphatauri.com.
ABOUT SCHOELLER
Schoeller Textil AG is a textile manufacturer with its headquarters in Switzerland. The globally-operating company specializes in the sustainable development and production of innovative textiles and textile technologies, which are leaders in niche markets worldwide. As a system provider of solution-oriented products, Schoeller responds to specific customer requirements and delivers tangible added value to its customers and partners. The company’s roots reach back to 1868.