BMW Group subsidiary Designworks recently unveiled a new camper concept and virtual reality experience, in partnership with The North Face, to imagine the future of protection from the elements at CES in Las Vegas.
The lightweight camper concept and virtual experience were designed by Designworks to showcase a new fabric innovation from The North Face called Futurelight, which uses Nanospinning technology to create breathable, waterproof material.
“We combined both physical and digital worlds to showcase this material, ensuring the holistic vision of the brand was clearly communicated, while giving people a real ‘hands-on’ experience,” said Laura Robin, Designworks Los Angeles studio director. “Thinking about extreme performance in new and unexpected ways from our experience of working across multiple industries, helped us to provide consumers with a unique and never before seen insight into the very heart of the material and its key attributes.”
The Futurelight camper was inspired by the 2008 BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept car. Like the GINA concept, the Futurelight Camper is made of a fabric outer shell, consisting of a flexible material stretched over a geodesic dome to demonstrate the potential uses of Futurelight fabric beyond just apparel.
The Nanospinning process used to create Futurelight has allowed the The North Face designers to add air permeability into the membrane of a fabric. The process creates nano-sized holes, allowing for incredible porosity while still maintaining total waterproofness, letting air move through the material and provide more venting than ever before.
The Futurelight Camper, is on display during the global consumer electronics tradeshow, by invite-only Jan. 7-11 in Las Vegas.
Futurelight will first become available to consumers in The North Face fall 2019 product line and will be featured across the brand’s pinnacle performance collections.
