Interview with Aasef Iqbal
Fortinet
Red Dot: How do you balance aesthetic considerations with functional demands and everyday usability when designing an outdoor jacket like this?
The design embodies an organic system: functionality as its foundation, aesthetics as its expression, and user-friendliness as an essential feature. This philosophy translates functional demands into a refined design language using advanced materials, modular thinking and innovative detailing.Professional-grade Gore-Tex with concealed seams and a three-layer composite construction is waterproof, breathable and comfortable against the skin without adding bulk. Thanks to ultrasonic welding, the one-piece cut creates a three-dimensional fit. Ergonomic curves allow unrestricted freedom of movement, while clean lines emphasise the urban look for versatile everyday use.The modular design unites elegance and functionality. Details such as horseshoe-shaped cuffs, adjustable hems and lightweight properties provide the comfort needed for business settings and the protection required for outdoor use. When functionality transcends its limits, aesthetics becomes the most sophisticated expression of technology.
What role do innovative materials and new technologies play in your product segment in terms of design?
Innovative materials and technologies form the foundation for designs that integrate commuter and outdoor use by resolving trade-offs such as waterproofing versus breathability.New technologies challenge the conventional perception of outdoor apparel as bulky and transform it from specialist equipment into a fusion of urban and outdoor fashion. Gore-Tex, with its proprietary structure that combines windproofing and moisture permeability, ensures adaptability. The combination of advanced materials with process innovations turns environmental properties into design advantages, and through traceable materials and sustainable production creates a “green design narrative”. This approach resolves functional contradictions and redefines both the aesthetic and practical logic of the product.
