There are two things we’ll never compromise on: a flattering fit and the planet. This is the story of how we listened to our customers to evolve our pattern making to create the best Tanks on earth.
Magic Fit® obviously covers our first promise and, alongside on-demand production, exclusively using non-stretch fabrics is a large part of being good to the planet. Natural fabrics make great Tees but proved to be more challenging when re-creating the humble Tank.
NON-STRETCH, NON-NEGOTIABLE
“Over 60% of the plastic debris found in the marine environment are from micro-fibres from our clothing.” - 1 Million Women
Stretch fabrics are a commonly used hack to ensure bodies of all shapes and sizes can squeeze into a limited number of traditional size breaks. And it works (mostly) but also comes at a cost.
Not only will these garments lose their shape over time, but synthetic ‘stretch’ fibres like Elastane are made from toxic petrochemicals (aka plastic) which require huge amounts of energy to create and are also non-biodegradable, breaking down into micro-plastics which we all know end up in our waterways and eventually, throughout the entire food chain.
We knew we couldn’t use these fibres in good faith and so began our journey to engineer out these petro-yarns using pattern making instead to mimic the function of stretch.
RE-ENGINEERING IS CARING
“it's both looser and more fitted. I tend to either have loose baggy tanks or tight fitted tanks. The Citizen Wolf Tank means I have a combination of both - it's not clingy, but doesn't gape around my breasts.” - Davina Gifford, Citizen Wolf customer
It goes without saying, but the upper chest area between the arm and bust becomes exposed when removing sleeves to create a Tank, and a well-fitting Tank needs to mould to this section of your upper body. And therein lies the rub when the starting point is non-stretch fabrics only!
After listening to our customers, we identified 3 areas in our patterns that needed to evolve to make the world’s most flattering tank: removing underarm gaping, removing bust gaping and narrowing the shoulder strap.
1. A-LINE SHAPE REMOVES GAPING UNDERARM
The very first time we made a Tank we simply took off the sleeve from our standard Tee pattern (remember, fashion isn’t our background!). Unsurprisingly, this caused the underarm to ‘swing-out’, with excess fabric gathering under the arm – not comfortable and not a good silhouette either.
Thankfully we’ve learnt from our rookie mistake and this time around, have reshaped the side-seam to be A-line rather than box-straight, bringing it tighter into the chest. We also dropped the arm hole for flexibility and comfort.
2. 'BUST TUCK' REMOVES GAPING AT STRAP
Removing stretch on a Tank creates inevitable gaping around the upper breast which gets worse as cup size increases. Our solution was to include a ‘bust tuck’ (think of a baby dart) which is dynamically sized and dynamically placed thanks to Magic Fit® based on your cup / underbust details to ensure the strap sits flat against your upper chest.
3. CUSTOM STRAP WIDTH VIA MAGIC FIT®
The final thing we learnt from our customers was both the importance of strap width and also how personal it is. So instead of having a standard width for the shoulder strap across every body like other brands, we use the power of Magic Fit® to dynamically size the width based on your biometrics and your chosen neckline. With a minimum width of 4cm, we guarantee the strap will perfectly fit between your natural shoulder point and collarbone and always cover your bra straps.
VIVA LA EVOLUTION
“If you’re not on demand, you’re not sustainable” - Zoltan Csaki, Co-founder, Citizen Wolf
Our four new Magic Fit® Womens Tanks marry your fave necklines with our new bust-tuck feature and relaxed silhouette to create the most flattering Tanks on earth, and for the Earth. Thanks to the constant evolution of our Magic Fit® technology, you no longer have to compromise the planet to look good.
