Niche British brand ABSNT was founded by two-brothers – Jade and Shane Rhone – who have both enjoyed designing for a range of outdoor activities and brands. Shifting focus with their own brand, they have scooped a coveted POLARTEC APEX Award for Innovation with their first product – the Mono Air Robe.
Jade Rhone said, “When you’re in a design review with a brand you see this great stuff that the designers have pulled together, and seemingly key styles often get dropped because they’re not commercial enough. Everyone loves them but those pieces are taken away so the consumer never sees them. That’s what ABSNT the brand is all about.”
Made with Polartec Power Air, itself an award-winning fabric, the Mono Air Robe is a piece of ‘sustainable design apparel architecture’ that ticks a lot of boxes way beyond a traditional dressing gown.
Using highly durable, 100% recycled Polartec Power Air it uses a version that is 25% lighter than the original. Further, Power Air is one of the first fabrics to tackle the issue of microfibre shedding. Five times fewer fibres are shed during washing than with other, traditional mid-layer fabrics.
It works by encapsulating the fibres into little pockets which both capture air keeping wearers warm and ensuring fibres stay put. The robe is lightweight, warm, easy-to-care-for and won’t pill. The brothers have strived to make this robe as mindfully and home-grown as possible with an ethos based on less stuff that does more and lasts.
Made in Manchester in the UK, every detail has been considered right down to the packaging which is biodegradable and uses non-toxic ink. The hang tags and leaflet are both impregnated with herbs so can be planted and there’s not a poly bag in sight, just a mesh laundry bag to emphasise the need to reduce fibre shedding.
