Style & Design 2020: The Most Lust-Worthy New Cars, Gadgets, and Gear
For our Style & Design 2020 awards, we highlighted the best-designed products that solve problems with game-changing advances and solutions so elegant they have a style all their own. These 24 items will improve your performance everywhere from the mountains to the kitchen—and look great doing it.
Contributors: Jesse Will, Berne Broudy, Ryan Krogh, Tom Samiljan, Adam Bible, Clint Carter, Andy Cochrane, Ryan Stuart, Brittany Smith, and Jon Perino.
Look good, lower your impact. Sustainable production and bio-based, recycled materials mean comparable performance witha reduced carbon footprint. - Courtesy Images
The Evolved Eco-Shell
Demain translates to tomorrow in French, but the new expedition-worthy shell of the same name from Picture Organic Clothing was originally dreamt up when the company was founded in 2008. The problem, says co-founder Julien Durant, was that “from the beginning, our company’s rule was if we can’t make it sustainably, then we’re not going to make it.” For years, Gore-Tex Pro was the only material that offered the self-proclaimed perfectionists suitable performance, but Gore’s use of chemical solvents and other perfluorochemicals to create its waterproof-breathable membrane was a problem for Durant. These so-called “forever chemicals” can bioaccumulate as permanent contaminants—a deal breaker based on Picture’s Golden Rule. But then Durant met with BenQ, the leading maker of membranes for lithium-ion batteries, and learned about Xpore. Using a stretching process, BenQ creates nanopores in membranes that convey breathability on the waterproof Xpore, making it comparable to Gore-Tex Pro without the use of solvents or PFCs. An added bonus? It’s half the weight. In the field, the three-layer shell performs just as well as equivalent Gore-Tex Pro shells we’ve tested. To up its earth-friendly bonafides, Picture sandwiches that membrane in a polyester made from a split of sugarcane waste fibers and other recycled materials. This protects it from both body oil and exterior dirt and wear—as well or better than the competition’s petroleum-derived alternatives.
[$500; picture-organic-clothing.com]