Student designs jacket that adapts to weather, exertion

Riley Scott, a Kwantlen Polytechnic University graduate, has been named the runner-up of a prestigious design award for his ski jacket that adapts to temperature and exertion levels.

Scott, who graduated from the university’s Wilson School of Design in December, was recognized at the Core77 Design Awards 2020, where he was runner-up for the Sports and Recreation Award.

His jacket, which is called a STRATUS Ski Touring Mid-Layer, varies its insulation to the thermal needs of the user, according to a news release from Kwantlen.

“The initial inspiration for this jacket came from my own ski touring expeditions and being frustrated with the amount of time and energy that was wasted while altering my layering system,” said Scott.

The up-and-coming sports clothing designer said he wanted to create an “invisible” layer that could adapt to different temperatures and exertion levels, without removing any garments.

To realize this goal, Scott said he took inspiration from window blinds as they transition from a 2-D object to a 3-D object when either side of the baffle is pulled in opposite directions.

The jacket was Scott’s capstone project in the Technical Apparel Design program, and he credits his instructors for their help.

“Riley did a fantastic job not just in what the jacket became as a prototype, but in the whole approach to understanding the context of use, defining the problem and technical design requirements, material and construction exploration, and iterative prototyping and testing of possible solutions,” said instructor Dan Robinson.

Robinson said the STRATUS jacket is designed to carry a backpack with more vent zips.

This is the second consecutive year a Technical Apparel Design program graduate has been recognized at the Core77 awards, after Philip Siwek’s autonomous vehicle cycling jacket won the Strategy and Research student category in 2019.

Kwantlen said Scott, who now works for Mountain Equipment Co-op, is looking forward to a future in technical apparel design.

The initial inspiration for this jacket came from my own ski touring expeditions.” Riley Scott