Client:
Nomatic
Business Stage:
Established Travel Bag Brand
Category:
Travel Apparel
WERX Role:
Design, Develop, Produce
Intro
With so many common industry connections, the teams at Nomatic and WERX had bumped into eachother over the years through different common connections, and always talked about someday aligning on something good. It wasn't until 2021 when Nomatic started their internal discussion to add apparel to their brand for Nomatic's CEO Jacob to reach out to Mike at WERX to open up the discussion of what it would look like to collaborate to bring Nomatic's very defined aesthetic and brand focus into the apparel category.
Goals
The initial goals were to source and develop the best performing fabrics for travelers on the move through different climates. Second was to work on fits and styles their customers were looking for. Lastly the need to align them with a manufacturing base they could partner with that align with their production timelines and be able to work with their category growth model.
The Collab
Even though knowing Nomatic already had a very strong and talented internal design & product team, they admitted that their strengths in bags would not fill the need they had to create the next level apparel for their customers and they wanted our partnership and recognized our strength and resources in performance apparel.
The Nomatic team kicked off the process by coming out to our Colorado studio, bringing along all their favorite pieces from brands that are close to the types of garments they were looking to create. These pieces were all close, but not exactly right in their opinion, so it was our task to elevate the fabric, fit and features to make it worthy of being branded Nomatic.
Their team came packing a strong direction of exactly what they were looking for. Not only with the styles they wanted to develop, but also the ideal fit and ideas on fabrics.
Being already obsessed with products, Nomatic didn't want anything but the best when introducing apparel to their audience. The time and attention they dedicated during the process was impressive and ideal for us.
Challenges
The biggest challenge was in the fabric development. Creating unique fabrics for each one of their styles, ensuring they have a distinct point of view on what sets their performance lifestyle apparel apart in a fairly saturated market.
Approach
Using the Nomatic direction of performance metrics and benchmarks, we went to work with numerous fabric mills working on fabric developments for the stretch woven pants, double knit jersey for the tees, and a combination of tech woven and insulations for the jackets.
The fabric development phase is done in parallel during the design process to ensure we're keeping the fabric in mind as we're sketching the styles, and then by the time we're ready to produce the first prototype samples, we have a good handle on fabric to be used to create them.
Process
Through the development process, several trips to the factories and fabric mills were undertaken, working through the sample fitting, construction methods and washing techniques to ensure the expected finished goods result would live up to Nomatic's expectations.
Working with factories in 2 countries, with completely different working styles, we discovered some exposures to potential failures along the way, as well as achieving great advances in the product development. That's usually how it goes, never as expected - which as long as in the end it results in a win, we're all fired up and excited for the launch.
THE
RESULTS
The product introduction commenced with a Kickstarter campaign, which aligns very much with Nomatic product launching strategy.
The campaign was a great success well over funded, but it wasn't until after the campaign ended and the glowing reviews that were popping up online that the flood of orders started coming in. The collections started selling out quickly and people were loving the line.
From how close Nomatic listens to their customer community, they were also able to capture great feedback on fit, which allowed them to head into their re-order cycle with a clear view on what tweaks needed to be done to perfect the fit.
FACTORY TIME
Over the past few years we've been able to take Nomatic several times to numerous apparel factories and introduce them to the process of an apparel factory, as well as the amazing partners we work with. Their team already travels intensively for their bag manufacturing, so the environment was nothing new to them, but gaining additional knowledge about the apparel was interesting to them.
This team is amazing to travel with.
CLIENT
TESTIMONIAL
We’ve had the pleasure of working with the Werx team for the past few years as we have expanded our product offering and launched a line of custom travel apparel line, tailored specifically to our consumers. From the outset, we’ve had an extremely collaborative and comprehensive approach to the design and development process.
Mike and Sasha worked tirelessly to help us nail the initial design concepts and source the right materials that aligned with our vision and the needs of our consumers. Their dedication to achieving the perfect fit was evident as they worked closely with us through multiple rounds of sampling, meticulously refining each piece to ensure it met our exact specifications and provided the comfort and style we were seeking. Werx introduced us to highly capable factories that they knew would support us in bringing our products and vision to life. They also provided unwavering support through production and delivery, ensuring that our product arrived as expected and on time. Their attention to detail throughout the design and development process ensured that every aspect of the apparel met the highest standards of quality. As Nomatic aims to grow and expand its apparel offerings, Werx continues to provide invaluable support, leveraging their industry knowledge and resources to help navigate new opportunities and challenges in the apparel market.
- Dan Rowe
Nomatic