Tyvek Jackets from Unawi, a Chilean Clothing Designer

We recently got this guest blog post from Unawi, a Chilean clothing designer that is creating and making Tyvek jackets. Unawi sends the following:

Unawi is an independent Chilean clothing designer that designs 100% hand-made custom, organic, fashion and ethnic wear. With its Tyvek jackets, Unawi wants to offer fashion and casual jackets to artists, skaters, snowboarders and everyone who loves to be unique. These jackets are part of our Tyvek collection for women.

Where did the idea of working with Tyvek come from? One day a friend went to the Unawi lab in Chile with a piece of Tyvek he had just found on a construction site. As I started to touch the material, I was thinking how awesome it would be to design clothes with this "paper thing".

As a designer using Tyvek, I find it fashionable and stylish. My Tyvek jackets are ultra-breathable and tear-proof. They are ultra-light when made with Tyvek only and then really warm (though still breathable) when lined with cotton or other fabric. Tyvek is also water and wind resistant, so it is really adapted to harsh conditions - I mean it resists anything. Besides Tyvek is easy to recycle so I guess it is better for the environment to buy a Tyvek jacket than a typical polyester jacket.

I do Tyvek jackets, lined cotton Tyvek jackets or even reverse Tyvek jackets. I print on the Tyvek using digital printing or screen printing right in my workshop. I love screen printing as I can use organic inks and really lower my impact on the environment as I screen print myself.

Regarding the fashion design, my first goal is to make the most comfortable jacket ever. Unawi Tyvek jackets are the result of a long process. I tried a lot of thing: with or without hood, Tyvek or fabric wrist, raglan or classical sleeve...and I keep trying new things. My final touch was to integrate a different secret pocket on each jacket. Location of the pocket varies and makes each jacket even more unique.

Stay in touch for more news as original Tyvek jackets will keep coming.