A slow approach to making fast clothing

ashmei makes clothes to last. An athlete’s fundamental needs don’t change as one model year rolls into the next, just as the challenges of designing for heat, wind or rain don’t shift with each fresh season.
By holding to our founding principle of creating long-lasting performance clothing without compromising on sustainability, ashmei makes durable products, not ones destined to become landfill a year down the line.

From start to finish

Having begun in product development, our approach to achieving this begins long before where most manufacturing briefs begin. Instead of making items to capitalise on fleeting trends in fashion or design, we start with the fundamentals; What performance characteristics does the athlete need? And which fibres can we use to achieve them?

Once we’ve decided on an answer, we put an equal effort into sourcing or creating materials that possess these characteristics while causing a minimum of environmental impact.

Each fibre upwards

Our championing of Merino wool is a perfect example of this. A sustainable natural material with incredible performance properties, we’ve worked with our fabric suppliers to enhance these, creating innovations like the addition of silica fibres to improve its breathability.

Largely biodegradable, its use also decreases the environmental impact of the product across its entire lifespan, as its inherent odour-management qualities reduce the need for intensive washing.

More recently ashmei has also worked to introduce a new high-performance microfibre material created from post-consumer polyethene terephthalate. Employed on our latest EVO jerseys, each one we produce now saves 12 plastic bottles from landfill.

Designed for the long run

With a horror of obsolescence, nothing would make our designers happier than seeing something we sold a decade ago still being enjoyed. To make this as likely as possible, we design our products to sit apart from the moment in which they were created.

To this end, the ashmei aesthetic is a reflection of our core principles, being timeless, practical, and unfussy.

Designed to age well, it’s partly why we don’t feel pressure to junk our range and start again each year like some brands. Instead, changing our designs only when there’s a concrete need, this helps us reduce wastage while also building better, ongoing relationships with our suppliers. And when we do have components left over, our supply chain control normally means we’re able to seamlessly integrate them into our next designs.

Built into everything we create

Performance for our riders, ethical sourcing, fair treatment and remuneration for suppliers and co-workers, and as minimal an impact on the planet as possible. Whether in fashion or not, these core values underpinned the first product we made, and we don’t intend on updating them any time soon.

 

Shop here for our Men's Signature Merino Jersey

Shop here for our Men's EVO Jersey