University signs partnership with fast-growing clothing brand founded by former special forces operators
Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) is celebrating after securing its first Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) in collaboration with ThruDark, a high-performance outerwear brand founded by former special forces operators.
The partnership will focus on improving the sustainability of the high performance clothing brand and its design and retail operations.
Recently listed in The Sunday Times Hundred 2024 as one of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies, ThruDark is going from strength to strength.
Its co-founders Anthony ‘Staz’ Stazicker CGC and Louis Tinsley spent a combined 27 years in the British military, 18 of which were spent in the UK Special Forces.
During this time, the two operated in some of the most hostile conditions and environments on the planet, undertaking dangerous operations regularly under the cover of night.
Upon leaving their distinguished and decorated military careers behind, they co-founded ThruDark.
Starting with a highly technical “Summit Suit”, the pair helped break mountaineering records including the fastest time to summit all 14 8,000m peaks and the first ever winter ascent of K2.
Expanding on their initial range of cold weather expedition gear, the brand has grown to encompass premium apparel, technical activewear, hot weather clothing and more.
KTP is a Government scheme funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency.
Tinsley said: “We’ll be working with the academics at AUB to create a series of digital assets that evolve our development process, putting digital creation at the forefront of design and development. We’ll also be working with our supply partners to support our goal to be sustainably conscious and to continue to innovate and push boundaries within our industry.”
The project will digitally transform ThruDark’s new product development process to increase growth potential and reduce its carbon footprint. The key objectives of the project are to improve the productivity of new product development by 33%, improve garment fit and therefore reduce the number of product returns by 35%, while also reducing the number of samples required to develop new products by 50%.
Penelope Norman, digital fashion practitioner and course leader on the MA Digital Fashion Innovation course at AUB, said: “ThruDark produces high-end, performance products that are meticulously constructed, look great, fit, and last.
“The founders personally test new styles and fabrics in the conditions they are intended to perform in and will sample until they achieve exactly what they require from them. The business’ commitment to pursuing excellence at every stage of a product’s lifecycle makes this innovation focused project really exciting.
“What we can bring to the brand through this KTP is the knowledge and skills to support the team in harnessing digital and creative technologies to further their development and sampling of the best products in the best ways.
“By digitising the design, sampling and prototyping workflows, creating virtual prototypes on avatars from brand models and physical patterns, ThruDark will be able to take a more inclusive approach to consumers. This will not only reduce physical samples and shorten the time to market for new products but also significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint, leading to substantial sustainable gains and economic growth.
“A huge 80% of a garment’s environmental impact can be addressed at the design stage. It is my goal to help designers and product developers in the fashion industry make a positive impact through the implementation of digital design, prototyping and production methods, and to educate graduates to support and drive these positive changes in the industry.”
ThruDark and AUB will be hiring a graduate who will work on the project with them from September this year. The role will include digitising past collections, creating new digital assets and avatars as well as supporting in upskilling the ThruDark team to harness new workflows.
The Knowledge Transfer Adviser for the project, Stephen Woodhouse, said: “I was delighted for the opportunity to support this project on behalf of Innovate UK – the ambition for the collaboration has huge contemporary and environmental importance.
“The KTP affords access to world-class research expertise at Arts University Bournemouth, providing a firm foundation for a series of future innovations by ThruDark. The project delivers critical industry scale- up through a more efficient customer engaged design process, whilst simultaneously addressing a variety of societal exigencies through sustainability.”
