Hardvark Launches On Kickstarter With High-Performance Men's Button-Down Merino Shirt

San Francisco, CA, October 15, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Technical performance wear is great in isolation. But it’s not stylish enough to be wearable in social settings. Regular fashion has the style you need but is unsuitable for even the slightest activity – sweat in a cotton shirt and you’re stuck feeling wet, cold, smelly and uncomfortable all day. And that’s a problem when you combine athletic and social activities into your busy lifestyle. Whether you are biking to work, hiking to lunch, skiing to the après-ski bar, or meeting friends after your weekend adventure of choice, you don’t always have time to go home in between and change. You need a wardrobe that can keep up.

Introducing Hardvark: a totally new line of apparel that’s engineered to perform in extreme environments yet stylish enough to socialize in. Our Hardvark Merino Shirt wicks moisture, regulates body temperature, resists odor, stays crease free and stretches for unrestricted movement. Say goodbye to shapeless, style-less active wear.

Hardvark performance wear is smart enough to wear anywhere. Merino 'layers' are great for so many activities but knitted merino t-shirts and crew tops are not exactly the pinnacle of style. No one wants to be wearing that stuff in a social setting. Hardvark changes everything: it takes merino performance and puts into a button down shirt that's smart enough to wear every day. Now you can enjoy all the benefits of merino without compromising on style."

Jody Symons, Hardvark Founder

Brand Story

Hardvark began in Verbier, Switzerland, a ski town world-renowned for it’s challenging mountain terrain and glamorous nightlife. Hardvark founder, Jody Symons, loved the performance of technical clothing but hated the lack of style. Technical “layers” performed great in Verbier’s backcountry but looked out of place in the bars, restaurants and clubs of the style-conscious town. To be fair, they didn’t look particularly great anywhere. Cotton shirts looked cool in town but didn’t perform on the mountain. Never a fan of compromise and wanting the best of both worlds, Jody set out to create a shirt that both looked and performed great, anywhere. A shirt with the style and comfort of your favorite cotton shirt but with the performance benefits of the most technical active wear.

Product Development Process

Frustrated with the lack of style in merino performance wear, Jody teamed up with rising sportswear designer, Alasdair Leighton-Crawford, a former Savile Row tailor and professional athlete, to develop a button down shirt that blends high style with high performance.

The Hardvark Merino Shirt is the result of almost two years of testing and development, working with the world’s finest fabric mills and some of Verbier’s best riders, to create the ultimate shirt.

Product Details

Hardvark Fit - the Hardvark shirt is engineered to give you the perfect fit. We use a separate side panel to create the ultimate slim fit, a flattering cut that both looks great and allows you full range of athletic movement. Other features include: a split yoke and concealed zip pocket.

Hardvark Merino - Our fabric is an all-new 175 gm2, woven blend of 73% superfine (18.5 micron) mercerized Australian merino wool with softened high-performance synthetic fibers and elastane. It is possibly the most luxurious performance fabric on the planet. Decadently soft yet durable, it looks great, regulates body temperature, wicks moisture, is highly odor- and crease resistant, and stretches to move naturally with your body.

The Hardvark Merino Shirt is available in Blue Gingham and Solid Black. More colors are in development. Sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL

The Hardvark Merino shirt will be available for a limited period of time on Kickstarter.com, starting 9 October. A limited number of shirts will be available to pre-order for $145, a saving of $70 on the planned retail price of $215.