#neededition

One of the greatest sensitivities I have about Need is that it’s — reductively — described as being exclusively made for men.

From our earliest moments to present day, I continue to have mixed feelings about such a specific statement.

The reason? Well, truly, Need is not just for men.

The reality is that we sell amazing products that’d be well-suited for people of all genders and identities. If you like something on our site, we certainly do not want to stand in the way of you enjoying something good.

Gender is a complicated issue, though. And, given the flagrant misogyny we’re so frequently greeted to online, I often worry that we’re seen as part of an appalling chorus of negative thinking. (This week's deplorable "#GamerGate" fiasco is an apt example.)

The honest truth is that we’re working exceptionally hard to be as open and transparent about our process, our feelings, and our products as possible.

Why do we target men? Briefly put, the menswear industry is worth $130 billion, but a seeming majority of men are still unable to dress well or shop for themselves.

It’s a distinct, unique, and relevant problem for a company — such as ourselves — to address. And, yet, the obvious byproduct of this approach is that we end up identifying ourselves very specifically as a men's retailer.

It's not inaccurate. We do sell products that'd be traditionally sold to men. At the same time, though, it's hardly inclusive.

I write this, too, in the full awareness that our company is currently comprised of six people, four of whom are women.

From our operations to marketing, the company boasts remarkably talented young women who find themselves targeting — and thinking as — the male consumer on a daily basis.

And, I suppose, there’s nothing wrong with that — nor is it an exceptional scenario, in many respects.

Nonetheless, though, I'm cognizant of the fact that we continue to find ourselves in unnatural and somewhat uncomfortable positions as a company.

We’re targeting a demographic that can use our services, but, in doing so, we’re presenting ourselves in a manner that’s somewhat poorly representative of our goals and, most importantly, our team.

I don’t know what the correct resolution for this topic is for Need. I don’t know what I can say that doesn’t come across poorly or reductively or strangely or callously. (I suspect I've ticked all of those boxes, to be honest.)

What I do know is that we’re aware that we could do better. From the way we present our products for all who might wish to purchase them to the manner in which our team works to assemble those products in the first place, I suspect there’s a better and healthier way for us to carry ourselves.

When Amber England, our marketing manager, hatched the idea for the Context series, this was high on the list that she and I wanted to discuss.

Amber carried it one step further by gathering all of our female employees and outfitting them in the clothing they've been bringing together for our customers. The messaging is clear and requires no further elaboration, perhaps with the exception of stating emphatically that we know where we need to improve.

As a small team, we're all on the same page. It's a dialog we have each week and it's something all of us are working to improve. And it's something for which we welcome you to hold us accountable.

As we move toward our anniversary — which will bring with it some significant overhauls of the Need experience — we intend to move in a better direction and be far more inclusive.

This post is part of our month-long series exploring the items that we — as a company — would like to improve upon as we head into our second year.

In our (brief) history, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of fantastic brands. Whether we’ve tapped into the world of streetwear, activewear, or formal attire, we’ve witnessed some of the best design you could ever hope to find in the industry.

Every so often, though, we’ll find a brand that not only produces phenomenal design, but also seeks to carry the industry forward in a meaningful, material manner.

One such brand is Boston-based Ministry of Supply, the remarkable purveyors of top notch men’s clothing coupled with unbelievably well-engineered fabrics.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Gihan Amarasiriwardena, CEO and Co-Founder of Ministry of Supply, about how, exactly, he found himself applying his MIT Biological Engineering degree to the fashion industry. And the answers were fascinating.

1. First and foremost, what led you to the concept for performance material dress attire? There must've been a moment of realization at which point you said, "Someone ought to make a product using these materials, but in a presentable, fashionable way." What sparked that moment of inspiration?

I studied chemical-biological engineering at MIT with the intent of really diving into the materials science, and even spent time at the Sports Technology Institute in the UK developing apparel and footwear for Burton and New Balance. While I thought I’d start an outdoor gear company after college, I realized while living in the city that it was hard to find functional apparel that looked sharp enough for work and an active lifestyle. It turned out that my co-founders, Kit and Aman had similar epiphanies. Kit was an avid climber and ice hockey player in college, and found while working in finance that Brooks Brother’s shirts just didn’t cut it when it came to performance. Aman was a consultant- flying every week- and would hate how traditional dress socks became soaked and uncomfortable during the day. So he cut up his Dri-fit socks and sewed them to the tops of his dress socks to see if he could merge the form and function.

As you can see from the three of us, much of the idea for our brand came from personal experience and our education. We started with dress shirts, because its one of the biggest drivers of discomfort.

2. Which came first: a love of fashion or pinpointing a need in men's fashion and doing something about it? Were you even involved in the fashion industry before you launched the Kickstarter?

It’s tough to say. I’d been dabbling in both from a pretty young age through out high school and college. I’d always been drawn to the functional aspect of apparel - but a clean, modern aesthetic has been something important to our design ethos. In many ways, we think about what we do more as industrial design than fashion. As we consider materials, manufacturing techniques, and human factors in the development of our products all with the intent of solving a problem for a use case whether its being on-the-go, in the city, or cycling to work.

3. Your material is the same that you'd find in a NASA spacesuit. How did you get access to this material? And, perhaps more importantly, how did you even hear about such a material and then think to apply it to a dress shirt?

We first heard about Phase Change Materials in our sophomore year thermodynamics classes. I have been fascinated with the concept ever since- material that could absorb energy through a liquification process, yet remain the same temperature. One of my team members was working in MIT’s Manned Vehicle Laboratory, where they’re creating the next generation space suits for Mars. (It turns out that NASA has been using this material for about 20 years now in space suits to keep astronauts comfortable in the extreme temperatures of space.) This was pretty similar to the temperature swings an urban professional goes through; 95 degree subway rides and super-chilled 65 degree offices.  We thought it was about time that it was brought down to earth, so we worked with our manufacturer to extrude the PCM into a polyester fiber that could be knitted into dress shirts.

4. Unlike a great many brands, you stress the science behind your product. It's an area that you don't often hear about in the world of fashion. How has the reception been? Do you think the traditional fashion world has latched onto the concept? Or do you prefer to think of yourselves as at a remove from the traditional fashion arena?

We think like engineers at several levels, which we call People, Process and Product. We’ve created a multidisciplinary team including Jarlath Mellet- former design director for Brooks Brothers and Theory. Our product developer hails from Reebok’s advanced concepts group, and then we have some chemical engineers. We believe that clothing should be an extension of your body - it’s something so essential and utilitarian, yet so intimate and often an expression of our identity. So we think that apparel design really needs to merge both form and function, the emotional and the rational.

Two years ago, we were pretty headstrong on the performance side only. But, over the past year since Jarlath has joined us, we’ve really worked on elevating the style of our products as well. We’re pretty excited to be one of the pioneers of this new category, Performance Professional, that’s gaining steam.

5. Need has sold a few products of yours over the past few months and they've consistently performed exceptionally well. We're excited to hear about what you plan to do next. There's obvious demand for your concepts and designs, so are you planning any new product types?

We’re really excited about the idea of not just aesthetic outfits, but functional outfits as well. We want our products to create a system that looks great and works for you. It started with the base layers and essential garments, which we’ve focused on to date. But, we’ve got some exciting works in the pipeline. Our most exciting development though has been the launch of our LABS- a collection of products that we’re tinkering with and make in small batches. It is perfect for early adopters who have to have the latest gear. Their experiences and feedback really help us direct the product. Last week we just launched our Apollo and Atmos Polo which were built off other products that people have loved so much thus far.