Elevenate’s products have a consistently high level of durability. The outer fabric for shell garments is preferably nylon, which is more hardwearing than polyester. Sara says that they choose organic cotton and recycled material as much as possible. Recycled polyester is a standard insulation in mid-layers, so there is no reason to hesitate, but for other types of materials the design team must weigh up the pluses and minuses

“Recycled fibres can sometimes mean a fabric is more likely to pill. If so, we prefer a ‘virgin’, newly-made raw material for its longer life and, over its period of use, a more durable product.”

The textiles industry is currently experiencing great development, such as in the field of bio-based materials.

“Biomaterials are exciting, but are not suitable for skiwear, at least not on their own. Take the Free Tour Pants for example, where we use 50 per cent bio-based nylon – this has been combined with polyester to give it the right properties."