Listening, Evolving and Adding a Little Colour

As ABSOLUTE360® continues to grow, one of the most rewarding parts of the journey has been seeing a community develop around the brand.

From runners and cyclists to people training in the gym and competing in different sports, our infrared-responsive clothing is being worn by an increasingly varied group of people. And as that community has grown, so has the feedback we receive.

We have always believed that developing a brand is about more than simply creating a product and putting it on a shelf. It is about listening to the people who wear it, learning from their experiences and continuing to evolve.

As we begin 2017, some of that evolution is becoming much more visible.

Listening to the ABSOLUTE360® Community

Since launching ABSOLUTE360® in 2013, we have been fortunate to meet and hear from people using our clothing in many different ways.

Some wear it while training. Others race in it. Some make it part of their recovery routine. What has been particularly rewarding is seeing ABSOLUTE360® move beyond any single sport and become part of the training routines of athletes from very different backgrounds.

One example is England cricketer Lauren Winfield-Hill, who has been training in the gym wearing ABSOLUTE360®.

England cricketer Lauren Winfield-Hill training in ABSOLUTE360®.

Seeing our clothing being used across different sports and training environments is important to us. It demonstrates how a range built around our belief in infrared-responsive technology can find a place in very different sporting routines.

It has also reinforced something else.

As more people began wearing ABSOLUTE360®, they started telling us what they would like to see next.

One request in particular kept appearing.

More colour.

We listened.

From Black to Colour

When ABSOLUTE360® began, the clothing was black.

All of it.

There was a reason for that. Black was simple, practical and versatile. It allowed us to concentrate on what mattered most in those early days: the fabric, the technology, the fit and creating clothing that performed as we wanted it to.

But a growing community inevitably brings different tastes and different ideas.

People liked what we were making, but not everyone wanted to wear black all the time.
So we decided it was time to introduce some colour.

For men, that meant Directoire Blue and Flame Scarlet.

For women, Flame Scarlet and Fuchsia Purple joined the range.

“Colour Has Arrived” — an original ABSOLUTE360® campaign featuring the new Fuchsia Purple and Directoire Blue colourways

The change gave people more choice while allowing us to retain the same performance-led approach and infrared-responsive technology behind the original black garments.

But there was one colour in particular that meant something more to us.

Why Flame Scarlet?

Flame Scarlet is bold, energetic and difficult to ignore.

It is also the official red of the Italian flag.

For ABSOLUTE360®, that made it a particularly appropriate colour to introduce into the collection.

Italy has been part of the ABSOLUTE360® story from the very beginning — not simply because of where our clothing is made, but because of the person who created the brand.

The connection felt so natural that Flame Scarlet — #CD212A — became one of the ABSOLUTE360® brand colours, alongside black and white.

It is a small detail, perhaps, but one that says something about who we are.

A British Brand with an Italian Heart

ABSOLUTE360® is a British brand with an Italian heart.

And that phrase is about much more than manufacturing.

I am Italian. I grew up in Italy before moving to England in my mid-twenties, and when I founded ABSOLUTE360® in Britain in 2013, that Italian background inevitably became part of the brand I was creating.

Sport had always been part of my life. Running, cycling, snowboarding and martial arts all contributed to an interest in performance, training and recovery that would eventually help shape ABSOLUTE360®.

So while the company was born in Britain, its Italian heart has been there from day one.

The choice to manufacture our infrared-responsive clothing in Italy adds another layer to that story.

Made in Italy

Our infrared-responsive clothing is Made in Italy.

For us, those three words matter.

Italy has a long tradition of textile production, technical clothing and craftsmanship. Working with Italian manufacturers gives us access to the knowledge and expertise needed to turn our ideas into the garments our customers wear.

But there is also a more personal connection.

Having been born and raised in Italy, there is a certain pride in seeing an ABSOLUTE360® garment carrying the words Made in Italy.

It brings together the two countries that have shaped the brand: Britain, where ABSOLUTE360® was founded and continues to grow, and Italy, where my own story began and where our clothing is made.

That is what we mean when we say:

A British brand with an Italian heart.

The Technology Remains at the Heart of It

The colours may be changing, but the principle behind our clothing isn't.

Our garments use infrared-responsive yarns incorporated into the fabric, creating clothing designed to combine the technology with the comfort and performance needed for training, competition, recovery and everyday wear.

That remains fundamental to ABSOLUTE360®.

Introducing colour isn't about moving away from what we started with. It is about giving people more choice while retaining the technology and performance-led thinking that brought them to the brand in the first place.

We want people to choose ABSOLUTE360® because of what sits behind the clothing — but we also want them to enjoy wearing it.

Growing Together

Perhaps one of the most important things we have learned since 2013 is that ABSOLUTE360® no longer develops in isolation.

Every conversation, piece of feedback and person we see training or competing in our clothing contributes something.

Seeing an international cricketer training in ABSOLUTE360® is exciting. Seeing cyclists racing and recovering in it is exciting. But so is hearing from someone who has been wearing one of our garments and takes the time to tell us what they like, what works for them — or what they would like us to make next.

That feedback matters.

It does not mean following every trend or changing simply for the sake of change. It means listening carefully to the community developing around ABSOLUTE360® and allowing the brand to evolve without losing sight of what made it different in the first place.

The introduction of colour is one example.

There will undoubtedly be others.

Final Thoughts

As we begin 2017, ABSOLUTE360® feels a little different from the brand that started with an entirely black clothing range in 2013.

The community is growing. Our clothing is appearing in more sports and more training environments. And the range itself is beginning to reflect more of the personality behind the brand.

The technology remains fundamental.

Our clothing is still Made in Italy.

And the Italian heart has been there from the very beginning.

Now, thanks in no small part to the people who have supported us and told us what they wanted, there is considerably more colour too.

And one of those colours — Flame Scarlet — has come to represent something more.

From the Italian flag, to our clothing, to the ABSOLUTE360® identity itself, #CD212A is now part of who we are.

We think that is a pretty good way to start 2017.