54 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Brand:
Volare
tri Westsuit, Apparel and
sporting accessoriestech talk
BEHIND THE BRAND
THE PRODUCTS
AT: You guys do wetsuits, swim skins,
and tri suits - were you concerned you
were joining an already well-stocked
market? You’re up against some big
names in both the wetsuit and clothing
market our industry. Why did you
decide on those three ranges and is
there more to come?
Volare: Business is so similar to sport -
you need a clear plan, and you need to
have put in the hard yards in advance if
you’re going to achieve your target on race
day. I think that’s true of life and
competition is certainly healthy as it lifts
everyone’s end game. Volare can’t control
what the big brands and other competitors
do, but we can control our direction. For
Volare, that’s to design market-leading
products and deliver a superior customer
experience from end-to-end. As an
example, our swim skin, in our opinion, is
the leading suit of its kind. It is constructed
of the finest Italian hydrophobic materials,
uses a YKK locking zipper and is Kona race
tested. Even better - it’s also a category
leader on price.
Regarding our range, we’ve started with
what we think are the hardest products,
with the highest barriers to entry. As a
brand we want Volare to be taken seriously
and to prove our design credentials, and we
think we’ve done that. The reality is that
anyone can source a t-shirt or a tri suit
from a catalogue in China. That’s not us.
We are very much about innovation, and
designing products from the ground up.
We select fabrics that serve a purpose,
create patterns to improve fit and test our
products to ensure they maximise
performance before they ever see the
light of day.AT: What do you think makes you stand
out from the rest?
Volare: At Volare, we are very connected
to our customers, and everyone on our
team is actively involved in triathlon. We
still personally go to expos, participate in
triathlons and work with our athletes in
the flume, testing products. For me, being
hands on really helps us to understand
athlete’s needs, both from a performance
and budget perspective.
Many of our competitors have grown
into large multinationals. As they’ve grown
they’ve tended to become less and less
connected with their roots in triathlon;
Volare is the opposite. The only suits we
ever wear are wetsuits and tri suits, andwe use the products we design on a daily
basis. I also think having designers who
have worked for the biggest surf brands in
the world, really adds a unique flavour and
moves us away from the traditional
triathlon “everything is black” approach.AT: Talk us through the Volare
process of product development.
What sort of R&D goes into your gear- what is the timeline from concept to
design to manufacturing to available
for athletes?
Volare: Ideas quite often happen while
swimming, riding or running. We run every
Friday and throw around ideas and
concepts. Timelines depend on the
product, pattern making and material
selection, and it can be really time-
consuming balancing performance,
comfort, style, longevity and price. For
example, our 2019 wetsuit range has been
in development since mid-2017. From the
initial design drawings, we produce our
first samples, which we flume test with
team athletes to evaluate speed and
buoyancy. Second samples we give to key
team athletes to test in training and
racing. Ryan Sissons and Laura Siddall
have already had podium results wearing
the new 2019 suits. We then take on board
the final feedback from selected age
group athletes. Ultimately we are striving
to be millimetre perfect, and if it’s not
right, we won’t release it. Once we press
the go button, final production on a
wetsuit is about 120 days until it’s in store.