Vollebak

Vollebak is a British clothing brand focused on experimental sportswear, adventure clothing, and technologically advanced everyday apparel. The company was launched in 2016 by twin brothers Nick and Steve Tidball, former advertising creatives who applied brand strategy, visual communication, and innovation-led product development to clothing. Based in London, Vollebak has positioned itself at the intersection of performance apparel, material science, speculative design, and popular culture. The brand’s product philosophy is built around unusual materials and extended-use concepts rather than conventional seasonal fashion. Its range has included technical jackets, hoodies, trousers, base layers, T-shirts, and accessories designed to explore properties such as thermal regulation, water resistance, abrasion resistance, fire resistance, electrical conductivity, and solar energy absorption. Vollebak’s products are often presented as experiments in what clothing might become under extreme environmental or technological conditions. This approach has given the company a distinctive profile within premium outdoor and sportswear, even though its offer also targets urban consumers interested in design and future-oriented innovation. Early visibility came through entertainment and media exposure. In December 2015, before the brand’s formal 2016 launch, the Relaxation Hoodie was worn by Jon Glaser and Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Vollebak subsequently attracted attention for garments using materials rarely associated with mainstream clothing. A graphene-coated jacket was introduced in 2018, and a jacket made primarily from copper followed in 2020. Other notable products have included the 100 Year Hoodie, promoted around durability and resistance to environmental stresses; the Solar Charged Jacket, designed to absorb and emit light after exposure; the Planet Earth Hoodie; the Plant and Algae T-Shirt; and the Full Metal Jacket. Recognition from design and technology publications reinforced Vollebak’s innovation-led positioning. The Solar Charged Jacket appeared in TIME’s 2018 Best Inventions list. The Graphene Jacket was a finalist in Fast Company’s 2019 Innovation by Design awards, while the Plant and Algae T-Shirt received an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas awards. The Full Metal Jacket was included in TIME’s 2020 Best Inventions list. These acknowledgments helped frame Vollebak less as a conventional fashion label and more as a consumer-facing materials and design company. The company has financed its expansion through external investment while remaining privately held. By November 2021, it had reportedly raised $10 million in outside funding, including a Series A round led by London-based venture firm Venrex, with participation from Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and Headspace CFO Sean Brecker. In 2022, Vollebak received an undisclosed amount through the BFC Venrex Fashion Fund. No public stock listing or ticker is associated with the brand. Vollebak’s primary market proposition is premium, highly differentiated apparel for consumers who value durability, technical performance, material experimentation, and futuristic design. Its communication emphasizes the story and function of each material, often making the garment itself a demonstration of a broader technological possibility. The brand’s current scale, ownership structure, and detailed operating footprint are not publicly established in the supplied reference material, but it is described as operating internationally from its London base.

Vollebak was created in the United Kingdom by twin brothers Nick and Steve Tidball, who had previously worked as advertising creatives. The brand was launched in 2016 with an ambition to apply a more experimental and technology-oriented approach to clothing. Rather than organizing its identity primarily around conventional fashion categories, Vollebak developed products as investigations into materials, durability, environmental performance, and the future of apparel. The company gained early public attention in December 2015, when Jon Glaser and Jimmy Fallon wore its Relaxation Hoodie on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. This exposure preceded the formal launch and helped establish an association between Vollebak and unconventional, conversation-generating clothing. From its London base, the brand began offering sportswear and adventure apparel aimed at consumers seeking both practical performance and distinctive design. A central part of Vollebak’s development has been its use of unusual or technically advanced materials. In 2018, the company created a jacket coated in graphene, a material associated with strength, conductivity, and advanced engineering applications. The product attracted industry attention and later became a finalist in Fast Company’s 2019 Innovation by Design awards. Vollebak also developed the Solar Charged Jacket, which was included in TIME’s 2018 Best Inventions list. The jacket’s concept centers on absorbing light and subsequently emitting it, giving an ordinary garment a visibly technological function. Durability and resistance have been recurring themes in the brand’s product storytelling. The 100 Year Hoodie has been promoted as a long-life garment with resistance to abrasion and exposure to water, wind, snow, and fire. Vollebak has also created products intended to explore biological or environmental alternatives, including the Plant and Algae T-Shirt. That product received an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas awards, indicating recognition for its sustainability-oriented material direction. In 2020, Vollebak introduced a jacket made primarily from copper and also saw its Full Metal Jacket included in TIME’s Best Inventions list. These products reinforced the company’s reputation for treating clothing as a platform for material experimentation. Its range has included jackets, hoodies, trousers, base layers, T-shirts, and accessories, with products generally positioned at the premium end of functional apparel. The brand’s expansion has been supported by private investment. By November 2021, Vollebak had reportedly raised $10 million in external funding. The reported Series A was led by Venrex, a London-based venture firm, with participation from Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, and Sean Brecker, CFO of Headspace. In 2022, Vollebak received an undisclosed amount through the BFC Venrex Fashion Fund. The company remains privately held, and the supplied material does not establish a public listing, detailed ownership structure, or a complete current management roster. Vollebak’s significance lies in its hybrid identity. It operates as a clothing brand, but its public profile is also shaped by product design, materials research, and technology-focused storytelling. Its garments are intended for sports, adventure, travel, and everyday use while also functioning as demonstrations of what apparel could do under more demanding or speculative conditions. The company continues to be associated with premium, globally marketed clothing that combines performance, durability, and futuristic visual and material language.

• 2022

  BFC Venrex Fashion Fund support

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Vollebak received an undisclosed amount from the BFC Venrex Fashion Fund.

• 2021

  Series A and external funding reported

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  By November 24, 2021, Vollebak had reportedly raised $10 million in outside funding, including a Series A led by Venrex.

• 2020

  Copper-based jacket introduced

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Vollebak developed a jacket made primarily from copper.

• 2020

  Plant and Algae T-Shirt receives award recognition

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Fast Company gave the Plant and Algae T-Shirt an honorable mention in its World Changing Ideas awards.

• 2020

  Full Metal Jacket included in TIME Best Inventions

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  TIME included Vollebak’s Full Metal Jacket in its Best Inventions list.

• 2019

  Graphene Jacket recognized by Fast Company

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  The Graphene Jacket became a finalist in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design awards.

• 2018

  Graphene Jacket developed

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Vollebak created a jacket coated in graphene as part of its advanced-materials product strategy.

• 2018

  Solar Charged Jacket recognized by TIME

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  The Solar Charged Jacket was included in TIME’s Best Inventions list.

• 2016

  Vollebak launches

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Twin brothers Nick and Steve Tidball launched the British sportswear and adventure-clothing brand.

• 2015

  Relaxation Hoodie appears on late-night television

  [1]Vollebaken.wikipedia.org

  Jon Glaser and Jimmy Fallon wore Vollebak’s Relaxation Hoodie on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, providing early exposure before the brand’s formal launch.

Premium experimental and high-performance apparel combining outdoor functionality, advanced materials, durability, and futuristic design.

• Technical jacket · 2018

  Solar Charged Jacket

  A light-responsive jacket designed to absorb energy from light and emit a visible glow afterward. The product exemplifies Vollebak’s practice of turning experimental material behavior into a consumer garment. Its inclusion in TIME’s 2018 Best Inventions list helped establish the brand’s credibility in design and technology circles.

• Technical jacket · 2018

  Graphene Jacket

  A jacket incorporating a graphene coating, developed to explore the use of an advanced carbon material in apparel. The garment became one of Vollebak’s best-known material experiments and was later a finalist in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design awards.

• Hoodie

  100 Year Hoodie

  A durability-focused hoodie promoted as a long-life garment. Vollebak describes it around properties including abrasion resistance, water repellency, stretch, and fire resistance, presenting the product as an alternative to short-cycle fashion consumption.

• Hoodie

  Planet Earth Hoodie

  A branded hoodie associated with Vollebak’s exploration of environmental themes and future-oriented apparel design. It is identified as one of the company’s flagship offerings, although the supplied references do not provide detailed technical specifications.

• T-shirt · 2020

  Plant and Algae T-Shirt

  A T-shirt developed around plant- and algae-based material concepts. Its sustainability-oriented direction earned an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas awards and reflects Vollebak’s interest in alternatives to conventional textile inputs.

• Technical jacket · 2020

  Full Metal Jacket

  A highly experimental jacket associated with Vollebak’s use of metallic materials and unconventional construction. The product was included in TIME’s 2020 Best Inventions list, reinforcing the brand’s positioning around speculative, technology-led clothing.

• Technical jacket · 2020

  Copper Jacket

  A jacket made primarily from copper and introduced as another investigation into the relationship between metals, protection, and wearable design. It extended Vollebak’s material experimentation beyond coated textiles and conventional performance fabrics.

• Hoodie · 2015

  Relaxation Hoodie

  An early Vollebak hoodie that gained public attention when worn by Jon Glaser and Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in December 2015. The product helped introduce the brand’s relaxed but unconventional approach to apparel.

• 2015The Tonight Show Relaxation Hoodie appearance

  United States · International media

  Vollebak’s Relaxation Hoodie was worn by Jon Glaser and Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The entertainment appearance functioned as an early awareness moment for the emerging brand.

  Outcome. The appearance gave Vollebak notable early visibility before its 2016 launch.

  Source

• 2022

  Receive BFC Venrex Fashion Fund supportStrategy

  Background

  The fund support followed Vollebak’s development of an innovation-led apparel proposition.

  Action taken

  Vollebak received an undisclosed amount from the BFC Venrex Fashion Fund.

  Source

• 2021

  Raise external growth capitalStrategy

  Background

  Vollebak remained a privately held brand while developing technically ambitious products and expanding its international profile.

  Action taken

  The company raised outside funding, including a Series A led by Venrex.

  Aftermath

  By November 24, 2021, reported cumulative outside funding had reached $10 million.

  Reported cumulative outside funding. $10 million (By November 24, 2021)

  Source

• 2020

  Expand metallic-material experimentationProduct launch

  Background

  Following earlier experiments with graphene and other advanced materials, Vollebak continued testing unconventional substances in outerwear.

  Action taken

  The company introduced a jacket made primarily from copper and promoted the Full Metal Jacket.

  Aftermath

  The Full Metal Jacket was included in TIME’s 2020 Best Inventions list.

  Source

• 2018

  Develop graphene-based outerwearProduct launch

  Background

  Vollebak’s strategy emphasizes uncommon materials and the translation of advanced technologies into wearable products.

  Action taken

  The company created a jacket coated in graphene.

  Aftermath

  The Graphene Jacket later became a finalist in Fast Company’s 2019 Innovation by Design awards.

  Source

1. 1Vollebaken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Vollebak official websitevollebak.com