Latest looks in marine fashion

We expect a lot from the clothes we wear when out on the water. Whatever the weather, they must protect us against UV rays, insulate from soaring or plunging temperatures, wick sweat and block odours, and stretch enough to allow us to cast and reel, winch and steer, dock, launch and perform well.

That we also dress to impress adds another challenge for innovative designers and manufacturers keen to keep pace with fashion trends and develop smarter fabrics that enhance our performance, without costing the earth. 

A few decades ago, marine and outdoor clothing labels began moving away from traditional natural materials, including cotton, wool, latex and down, in favour of synthetic fibres. As a result, breathable, waterproof membranes are well advanced as consumers demand garments that utilise recycled polyesters and chemical-free waterproof coatings.

We are witnessing, too, a return to natural, breathable fibres as clothing ranges transform organic cotton and sustainably produced merino wool into high-performance marine clothing.

Garments made entirely from recycled plastic bottle polyesters – now indistinguishable from virgin polyesters – are common in just about every outdoor clothing range. 

Australian family-owned fishing apparel label Undertow currently recycles 29 plastic bottles into each of its water-resistant PFC-free spray jackets and fully waterproof tech jackets. 

The company’s commitment to recycled polymers extends into its urban wear range, too – its polycotton hoodies and quick-dry caps and bucket hats are made from 100 per cent nylon that’s reclaimed from discarded fishing nets and other industrial plastics.

Sail Racing’s Spray range includes Technical Tees (with UPF 15) and T8 Shorts for both men and women that utilise 100 per cent recycled polyester and are coloured with a sustainable E.Dye. 

Recycled plastic bottles have found their way into life jackets, too, with watersports label Jet Pilot utilising a next-generation neoprene called ‘Ecoprene’. The fabric, made exclusively from recycled plastic, is touted as being 30 per cent lighter than traditional neoprene and with more stretch, and is incorporated into Jet Pilot’s extensive range of L50s wakeboarding buoyancy vests for men, women and kids.

Zhik’s Yulex wetsuit range is made from certified natural rubber, harvested from deforestation-free plantations. In fact, every fabric utilised in the Yulex range comes from a recycled source – even the glue is plastic- and formaldehyde-free.

Upgrading to Zhik’s new wetsuit technology doesn’t mean sending your old-style neoprene wetsuit to landfill, though, as Zhik will recycle it through its global ReZhikle program in a partnership with UPPAREL.

If you take a look at the swing tags on boating clothing today, you’ll notice how many waterproof jackets are flagged as PFC-free (perfluorinated compounds) or chemical-free, and highlight their use of plant-based DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coatings and membranes.

Lots of companies – Gore, Zhik and Gill included – have made the switch, turning out safe and sustainable water-resistant and waterproof garments. Sail Racing is credited with releasing the first chemical-free, fast-drying down insulation in its Vectran range, while Zhik’s XWR repellent is also PFC-free.

Zhik’s PFC-free XWR repellent is incorporated into its extensive eco-friendly range of active wear for boating and sailing: stretchy, fast-drying deck shorts, board shorts and UPF50+ long- and short-sleeved tees, plus hoodies, pants and rashies. 

Created by edgy designers, the athleisure trend has inspired high-performance clothing that compromise nothing when it comes to looks. These garments wick moisture and move like a second skin.

Undertow’s lightweight nylon/spandex Performance Shorts – which they tout can take you from the boat, to dinner with your boss, or onto the dance floor – even come with a microfibre-lined zip pocket for sunglasses that cleans your lenses every time you pocket them.

The new Slam Foil Hooded Jacket gives technical on-water gear an urban makeover and manages to not only produce a good-looking lightweight jacket, but does it with 100 per cent recycled ripstop polyester with PFC-free water repellence.

With styling for men and women, the Foil Hooded Jacket is waterproof, breathable and abrasion-resistant but you’d also wear it on weekends off the water, too.

Some clothing ranges are experimenting with smart textiles containing what’s known as Phase Change Materials (PCM). These respond to your body’s temperature and skin moisture levels by either absorbing heat (to cool a hot body) or releasing heat to warm and insulate.

Musto incorporates an actively cooling and sustainable material known as ‘ICE-Cafe Fabric’ into its range of LPX Cooling UV T-shirts for men. Made from recycled coffee grounds and capable of lowering the skin’s temperature by one or two degrees Celsius (compared to other common fabrics), this quick-drying fabric is also UV- and odour-resistant.

SunSmart shirts with a very high UPF of 50+ have long kept us covered, but they weren’t particularly stylish, and on hot days they generated some pretty potent odours. Thankfully, you’ll now find UPF 50+ shirts, pants, shorts and even hats that are more breathable and comfortable than ever.

Just about every boat clothing label makes a UPF 50+ shirt, including Jet Pilot, whose ultralight Jet-Lite UV Shirt blends a micro jersey feel with a toughness that jetskiers and boarders need. Undertow does a quick-drying, super-lightweight 50+ shirt for anglers, while Burke keeps sailors covered with a long-sleeved hooded sun shirt that comes with a built-in neck gaiter, hood and thumb holes.

Made from Repreve recycled nylon, Zhik’s high-stretch, skin-tight Eco Spandex range for active watersports not only offers UPF 50+ protection, but promises enhanced breathability and a soft feel with anti-rash stitching to reduce chafing.

Out of the water, Zhik’s Elite Sailing Shorts come with UPF 50+ and offer four-way stretch, breathability and eco- friendly ZWR waterproofness. Team them with a UPF 50+ long- or short-sleeved top from Zhik’s UVActive range.

Slam covers bases too with its OD Tech Hooded T-shirt that transforms recycled polyester and gives it a breathable, soft jersey feel. This long-sleeve T-shirt with a UPF 50+ keeps sunburn at bay with a neck gaiter and hood.

Traditional leather deck shoes remain a firm favourite, with Burke and BoatShoesOnline providing a good range of choice, but these are matched by a new range of waterproof performance footwear that looks like something you’d wear trail running or training, but with a focus on grip and unique water drainage systems.

The Surge sail racing shoe from Zhik looks like a lightweight running shoe but has a unique one-way drainage system in the sole to let water out, but not in. Also worth mentioning are Slam’s unisex Pro Sailing shoes that comes with a Vibram no-marking sole and a fast-drying, comfortable nylon upper.

There are few things more comfortable to wear than a cotton T-shirt, and the use of pure organic BCI (‘Better Cotton’) is becoming commonplace across innovative ranges of technical T-shirts for boaters. Increasingly, too, designers are incorporating merino wool into thermal base layers.

Slam blends merino wool with recycled polyester to create its innovative range of Active Merino T-Shirts for both men and women. Similarly, Musto uses merino wool in its HPX Merino Base Layer tops and pants, adding reinforced Cordura fabric elbows.

Many boating labels, including Sail Racing, retail natural, breathable BCI organic tees for women and men in cuts and colours that take you off the deck, onto the dock and into the club.

A FULL REVIEW OF THE LATEST LOOKS IN MARINE FASHION RAN IN THE JUNE-JULY (VOLUME 40.3) ISSUE OF CLUB MARINE MAGAZINE. 

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