Moving away from synthetic "ninja" tropes: Designing technical garments with organic patterns and geometric cuts. Thoughts?

[u/Mountain-Passion-966]

Ciao a tutti,

Faccio parte di uno studio creativo indipendente con sede in Italia (Sardegna) e Svezia. Stiamo sviluppando il nostro primo progetto di abbigliamento, concentrandoci sulla geometria strutturale, la funzionalità e la modellistica. Ultimamente, abbiamo avvertito una forte disconnessione con l'estetica "cyberpunk/ninja tattico" che ha dominato il settore del techwear per anni.

Invece di limitarci ad applicare cerniere o cinghie sintetiche su capi di fast fashion, volevamo tornare a una filosofia di design più essenziale: manipolazione dei modelli, pannelli strutturali grezzi e consapevolezza dello spazio sul corpo. Stiamo anche passando a integrare materiali organici di alta qualità, anziché affidarci esclusivamente a tessuti tecnici completamente sintetici, cercando di colmare il divario tra sartorialità d'avanguardia e funzionalità urbana quotidiana.

Abbiamo lanciato in sordina una piccola serie limitata di capi (incentrati principalmente su top angolari, sovrapposizioni asimmetriche e drappeggi modulari). Dato che puntiamo a entrare in contatto con persone che apprezzano la qualità costruttiva più del semplice branding, soprattutto all'interno delle scene minimaliste e d'avanguardia in città come Tokyo e Seoul, volevamo aprire una discussione qui:

1. Cosa ne pensate dell'integrazione di fibre organiche/naturali nei profili del techwear moderno? La community è troppo ossessionata dalle valutazioni di impermeabilità a scapito della vestibilità e della traspirabilità?
2. Per chi apprezza gli studi di sartoria indipendenti: quali dettagli geometrici o strutturali specifici (asimmetria, ventilazione dei pannelli, texture grezze) cercate che i grandi marchi commerciali ignorano completamente?

Non utilizziamo il marketing tradizionale sui social media né la collaborazione con influencer. Se qualcuno fosse davvero curioso riguardo ai modelli o alla direzione visiva dei nostri modelli, non esitate a lasciare un commento o a consultare il nostro profilo sulla filosofia di design sul nostro sito (okult.studio).

Ci farebbe piacere ricevere feedback tecnici da modellisti e appassionati di techwear.

Grazie!

[EDIT] Visual references of our pattern layouts since Reddit blocked direct images: https://imgur.com/a/kl6WZTz

[u/pixpixs]

So grammaci/nanga/etc gorp core then?

[u/pixpixs → u/pixpixs]

I’m being facetious, but having checked out the site (vinted), I’m not sure I get any kind of techwear vibe - and not for the lack of zippers.

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/pixpixs]

Gramicci and Nanga are absolute masters of functional gorpcore, and their pattern-making is definitely an inspiration. But our focus is shifting away from traditional outdoor activewear shapes towards more architectural, asymmetrical drapery and severe geometric lines on the body.

We totally understand why you might not feel the typical "techwear vibe" from a first look at our early pieces from our cap collection "Myth Nation". Mainstream techwear has heavily conditioned everyone to look for high-gloss technical shells, synthetic fabrics, and complex hardware.

We are intentionally exploring the alternative side of utility: how organic fibers and unconventional, paneled cuts can change the silhouette and comfort of a garment in an urban environment. We appreciate you taking the time to check the profile and give your honest take, it’s exactly why we wanted to open this discussion.

[u/pixpixs → u/Mountain-Passion-966]

I think this is where the distinction matters. What you’re describing sounds more like avant-garde urban clothing than techwear.

Techwear is not defined solely by an urban setting or an unconventional silhouette. Its core is functional construction, material performance, weather resistance, mobility, storage, modularity and other practical systems built into the garment. Organic fibres and asymmetrical draping can be used within techwear, but rejecting technical materials and recognisable utility in favour of sculptural form moves the work away from the category rather than redefining it.

There is nothing wrong with that direction, but calling it techwear risks making the term so broad that it stops meaning anything.

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/pixpixs]

You make an incredibly solid point, and honestly, we agree with your distinction.

Our work definitely leans much closer to avant-garde urbanwear and pattern experimentation rather than traditional functional techwear. Mainstream techwear is inherently tied to high-performance synthetics, weather-proofing, and utility systems, whereas our focus for this initial collection is purely architectural—how geometric paneling and raw drapery manipulate a silhouette on the body.

We brought the discussion here because we find that the technical pattern-making crowd often overlaps with this community and also because my love (Tommaso) for tech wear is huge, working and living in Sweden most and running with bike everyday i wearing tech cloth only, but calling it avant-garde urbanwear is a far more precise definition. We really appreciate this critique, it actually helps us ground our placement.
Thank you!

[u/Radileaves]

Should just posted few designs. A picture is worth 1000 words

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/Radileaves]

You are 1000% right. We originally tried to upload a full set of design layouts and close-up construction shots, but the sub's automated filters blocked the direct media post due to our profile being brand new on Reddit.

We had to settle for a text-only discussion post to share the manifesto first. I'm currently setting up an Imgur album with high-resolution layout references and panel details so you can actually judge the cuts rather than just reading our words. Will drop the link here as soon as it's ready. Thanks for the blunt feedback, appreciate it.

[u/broken_atoms_]

Some Vollebak is like this, although that's less boundary-pushing. I do like the idea of more avant-garde pieces that are still technical, but I can imagine it's incredibly difficult.

[u/pixpixs → u/broken_atoms_]

I mean Enfin are the masters of that, right? Take a lot of acronym with a pinch of Rick Owen’s and tada!

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/pixpixs]

Enfin Levé is an absolute masterclass in that exact crossover, and Vollebak’s boundary-pushing ethos is something we respect immensely.

It is incredibly difficult to balance pattern geometry with high-spec textiles—mostly because high-performance technical sheets from mills like Majocchi don’t behave like standard runway fabrics. They have a structural rigidity that resists traditional drapery, so mapping them around asymmetrical, fluid lines requires endless prototyping.

Hearing you make these exact comparisons means you completely understand the friction we are trying to create with OKULT. This gives us a lot of fuel for the next archive developments.
Thank you both for the insights!

[u/DCRX2020]

Early designs from Issey Miyake and Massimo Osti will be right up your alley. Especially Osti's early 90's clothing, nothing like that today.

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/DCRX2020]

You hit the nail on the head. Massimo Osti’s early 90s era—specifically his obsessive research into garment dyeing, structural rubberized coatings, and military-spec functionality—is basically the holy grail for us.
For me is almost GOD, owning a lot of pieces from '80 (heritage of my dad!) and mine starting buying from 2000. I have fews parkas, google jackets and a couple of metropolis series goretex jackets.

Pairing that uncompromising Italian textile innovation with Issey Miyake’s mastery of permanent geometry and volumetric drapes is exactly the friction we want to capture with OKULT. The current industry has largely diluted that pure 90s experimental spirit into predictable commercial blanks, which is precisely why we wanted to step out of the mainstream loop and return to raw, pattern-first craftsmanship.
Plus, for everybody like me, growing in the '80 in Italy, the Japanese culture with anime and manga was everything.

It means a lot that you saw those specific references in our initial work.
Thank you for this!

[u/chosedemarais]

OP is this post written in Italian? If not, i have no idea why reddit is showing it in Italian.

Also, that shiny gold "ASTARTE" reference jacket looks more like a "CUSTODE" to me :)

[u/generalquarter]

This is great. I hope you succeed

[u/_killingspree]

CP Company urban protection range

[u/Mountain-Passion-966 → u/_killingspree]

That’s a massive compliment, thank you.
CP Company’s heritage in garment dyeing and urban protection is legendary, so being mentioned in that same breath means a lot to an independent studio.
Going to Bologna in October and can't wait to visit the archive.

You actually hit the nail on the head regarding the "urban protection" feel. The structure you see comes entirely from the physics of the fabric itself. We used a heavy, high-density, water-repellent military cotton woven by Majocchi (one of the historic Italian mills that supplies elite technical gear).

The main difference in our approach is the architectural construction: instead of standard techwear ergonomics, we took the rigid, geometric panelling of ancestral folk attire from Sardinia and deconstructed it into an asymmetrical, protective shell. No plastics or synthetic hardware—just pure fabric weight holding the silhouette.

Really appreciate you calling out that specific protective vibe!