Science and Fashion, Now Fused
Betabrand is proud to offer you the opportunity to own a piece of DARPA-class technology in hoodie form. For those unfamiliar with DARPA, it stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — the government agency responsible for creating the Internet, stealth fighters, and robots galore.
What makes our state-of-the-art hoodie stand out from the common hooded coat? Futuristic contrast stitching: Thanks to an ingenious algorithm cooked up by a duo of DARPA grantees, our friends Jonathan Bachrach and Saul Griffith from Otherlab, the seams of our hoodie form a unique, 12-part design.
How this singular fusion of science and fashion came to be:
Over the last couple of years, Jonathan and Saul developed software that converts 3D objects into
2D patterns — just the thing for some mysterious, top-secret government project, or, you know, hoodies.
DARPA encouraged Jonathan and Saul to find nifty, non-military applications for their software,
and we’re honored that they chose to test their technology on us. (Please note that Betabrand constructed these hoodies strictly for peaceful purposes. For now.)
According to Griffith, “DARPA’s goal was Programmable Matter — real world Terminator 2s. To do so, we had to delve into the very relationship between two and thee dimensions, and the deep connection between information and structure. Thus we can for the first time offer the Optimal Hoodie.
Not just a good fit. Optimal. The math told us so.”
Science and fashion buffs alike should scroll down to view a declassified, behind-the-scenes video of the DARPA Hoodie production process. It’s like witnessing the birth of the love child of Spiderman and a stealth fighter.
