Our Intelligence channels offer market intelligence, technical reports and deep-dive analysis of key industry motivators, technologies, materials and impactors. WTiN Intelligence provides detailed analysis of important high-growth areas of the textile and apparel industry. WTiN’s expert team of analysts and network of researchers go beyond the what and the why to look at what might come next, what businesses need to contend with in an evolving global supply chain, and how they can take advantage of the opportunities on the horizon.
Industry insight, market information, and the connections you need to examine and evaluate market trends in the roll-to-roll digital textile printing sector.
By Paul Cochrane
By Earl Balthazar
By Joe Link
By Joe Link
Market and technical intelligence essential to the activewear and athleisure textile and clothing industries.
By Fiona Haran
By Fiona Haran
In-depth intelligence about textiles used in outdoor sportswear, footwear and equipment, as well as textile applications that require protection from external environments - such as workwear and PPE.
By Jessica Owen
By Fiona Haran
In-depth intelligence on the materials, manufacturing technologies and application areas of smart textiles.
By Victoria Nickerson
By Jessica Owen
By Victoria Nickerson
By Jessica Owen
Providing investors and decision makers in the textile and apparel value chain with in-depth analysis and insight into the digitalisation of manufacturing processes and smart business models.
By Jessica Owen
By Otis Robinson
By Otis Robinson
By Jessica Owen
Our WTiNews channels take a look at global textile and apparel industry innovation, businesses, technology and markets, provided by WTiN’s in-house team of journalists. WTiNews is set apart from basic news content as it discerns the importance of changes and developments in the supply chain. WTiNews doesn’t only tell you ‘what’ has happened, it also covers impact, the bigger picture and the industry’s response to trends, events and more.
A viewpoint on both natural and manmade fibres and yarns, as seen through the eyes of manufacturers, growers, processors and spinners, with a mix of technical articles, analysis and product innovation news.
By Jessica Owen
By Nitin Madkaikar
By Nitin Madkaikar
Analysis and manufacturing technology updates for the global fabric manufacturing industries and their supply-chain partners.
By Jessica Owen
By Jessica Owen
By Nitin Madkaikar
News, analysis and technical information on the important realms of dyeing, finishing, printing (both screen and digital) and coating.
By Fiona Haran
By Earl Balthazar
By Paul Cochrane
News, market insight, analysis and product development updates from the fast-growing markets in technical textiles, covering all applications and end uses.
By Jessica Owen
By Fiona Haran
Unrivalled coverage of the manufacture and uses of engineered polymer and fibre ‘non-textile’ products.
By Jessica Owen
By Jessica Owen
By Jessica Owen
Your instant window on the global raw materials prices, trade movements, resources and manufacturing costs that can affect the profitability of your textile products.
By Nitin Madkaikar
By Nitin Madkaikar
By Nitin Madkaikar
By Nitin Madkaikar
Digital Textile is the world’s only journal dedicated wholly to textile applications in the rapidly developing field of digital printing.
Future Materials (FM) is focused on innovation in the fast-growing technical textiles sector, from fibre to finished product, covering all the applications and end uses across the world. As global demand for technical textiles rises, high-level executives and product designers increasingly turn to FM for the latest news, product launches, R&D projects, conference reports and market insight.
International Dyer & Finisher is the unrivalled world leader in the delivery of vital sector-specific information for textile dyers, finishers, printers and coaters.
Knitting International is uniquely placed to give a worldwide perspective to manufacturers and retailers in the ever-more globalised and diversified knitting industry.
Nonwovens Report International (NRI) keeps you up-to-date with the latest developments across the nonwovens market. With its team of technical and industry experts, NRI makes use of its close ties with associations, research institutes and market-leading businesses to bring you international reporting that covers areas all over the world.
Previously known as IoTex, the newly relaunched Textile 4.0 journal delivers vital insights into the burgeoning transformation of the textile and apparel value chain. It covers a spectrum of content, from technologies enabling the personalisation trend to supply chain transparency, the latest in fabric gripping robotics, smart clothing and much more.
Twist is read across the textile supply chain, from early stage processors to retailers, with its primary focus the provenance of fine natural fibres such as wool, cotton, silk, linen, cashmere and mohair, as well as rare and speciality fibres.
Founder and chief officer Soj Jibowu, talks to Jessica Owen about his new triathlon and cycling performance apparel brand Varlo.
The first recorded triathlon took place in San Diego, California, back in 1974. At the time, only 46 athletes completed the usual run, cycle and swim. However, the sport has since grown rapidly. In fact, since it became an official Olympic event in 2000, tens of thousands of people now participate in the sport every year, and competitions such as Ironman are known to people across the world.
But the truth is that triathlon participation has actually declined over the last few years since its period of massive growth in the 2000s. The main reasons being that it is too expensive and too difficult. But thankfully, one company has a vision to attract newcomers to the sport and turn the situation around: Varlo.
Founded in September 2020 and based in Philadelphia, US, Varlo is a new performance apparel brand that caters to the needs of triathletes and cyclists. It was founded by Soj Jibowu who has a plan to not only offer the sport a new clothing brand, but to increase participation numbers.
“Around six or seven years ago I was in Chicago and went to an International Triathlon Union (ITU) event as it just happened to be on,” says Jibowu.
“I was watching the athletes and just thought that they were amazing – the athleticism and endurance was incredible. I fell in love with the sport and started to participate myself. I then started to ask a lot of questions about the sport about participation numbers, the fluctuation of the triathlon market, where the market sits on a global scale and so on. I realised that the US market is very large, but I found that there was room for improvement with regard to participation and the marketability of the sport and so this made me think that I have to do this and see where it could go.”
These thoughts occurred two years ago, and now Varlo is here to start catering for the triathlon community, specifically the elite and the newcomers.
Jibowu says: “We want to offer top, elite apparel to dedicated athletes who care about shaving time off their swims or transitions who have been in the sport for a very long time. But we also want to target the 10% of athletes who are new to the sport.
“These people don’t want to spend around US$350 on a triathlon suit when there is already a race fee and a bike to think about. So, we want to provide a solution to those participants as well.”
The company launched purposefully towards the end of 2020 so that they could show off a handful of products to get their name and message out there, bearing in mind that the triathlon season is nearly over this year and races haven’t been going ahead anyway due to Covid-19. The plan is to be recognised now so that people begin to buy products at the start of 2021, ready for the upcoming season.
“At the moment we offer triathlon shorts, singlets, full sleeve suits as well as jerseys and bibs for men and women,” he says.
“In the spring, we’ll expand on that by offering a different tiered triathlon suit and additional cycling jerseys and race bibs.”
With triathlon being such a demanding sport, there are many different design aspects to consider. For example, garments need to perform well on land and in water; something that designers of other sportswear don’t often have to think about.
At Varlo, the company uses high-performance fabrics sourced from countries such as Switzerland, France, and Italy. Products have hydrophilic functions and some of the top tier garments have ceramic properties on the outside for UV protection, for example. Jibowu says that there have also been some studies to suggest that the dimple design on golf balls helps with the aerodynamics, so the company has applied some of these features to its products as well.
“Early on we said that we want to design garments that are comfortable, meaning that they can withstand being in water, then on a bike for anywhere between 10-100 miles, and then used for running," he explains. "So, we needed to make garments that are hydrophilic, like a second skin, and breathable.
“Most importantly, because the athlete is on a bike for a considerable amount of time, we needed some padding. So, we have an integrated fabric seaming approach and it almost feels like it’s not there. Hopefully with these characteristics, athletes can shave those added seconds off their performance.”
Although Jibowu is knowledgeable about the sport, his background is actually in medical science and chemistry. Therefore, he has had to learn a lot about textiles in a short space of time.
He says: “I remember going through online training sessions learning about different fabric weights and what stitches could be used with certain materials. I also went to Drexel University and literally just watched, listened, and learned. They were very kind to give me a tour and learn.
“Triathlon suits are very technical too, they’re not simple. So, I had to learn about panelling and body mapping. For example, you need good rotation in your shoulders for swimming and so you need a fabric that is light and not restrictive. It’s also beneficial to not have seaming on the shoulders as this can chafe. Also, for fabrics that are on the inner thighs, you need a higher weight and dyes that are resistant to fading. I could go on for a whole day about this because it’s all so interesting to me.”
This interest, and the fact that Varlo has such a solid team, is why the company is what it is, according to Jibowu. Currently, there are around 12 people working for the company and all are passionate about the sports and want to achieve.
“The message of Varlo is about togetherness, about building a better and faster tomorrow. We have coined the phrases ‘together we strive’ and ‘the future awaits’ because we believe the future belongs to not only the brave but those who are daring,” he says.
It's fair to say that the company needs this spirit and bravery at the moment, as the business has launched during a global pandemic. This doesn’t faze Jibowu though, as he says that the team is realistic about projections and doesn’t have any 2019 or 2018 sales predictions to worry about or try and meet. However, the main worry is about what will happen to the sport in 2021.
“One thing that is probably for sure is that the races might not be as robust as they were in 2019,” he says.
“In the past, there were 10,000 participant strong events where people fly in for one race, but I think the jury is still out for what’s going to happen. But we’re in a position where we’re building from the ground up and we have the flexibility as a new company as to what the future throws at us.”
He concludes by saying that ‘triathlon is an awesome sport, and the future is bright’. Although it may take some time for the sport to bounce back, it will bounce back, and in fact it may have needed this time to reset.
“In our position where we’re trying to attract new athletes, one of the barriers is that there are cost issues and Covid-19 is on our side as it may level the playing field for new participants to enter the sport. We're hopeful of that and hope to be a catalyst for bringing participants on board,” he says.
“Being a new company, it’s only going to go up for us and we’re excited about that.”
To find out more about Varlo, visit https://www.varlosports.com/
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