Material Innovation and the Future
The future of fashion lies not in what we add, but in what we engineer and create. True innovation happens when innovation and responsibility work together, creating materials that serve both you and the world. At SAISEI, we start with a fundamental question: how can we create textiles that enhance our lifestyle without compromising the systems that sustain it?
PHOTOGRAPHY & CREATIVE DIRECTION / SIMON ELMALEM
In Pursuit of Better
Material innovation starts long before fabric touches your skin. It begins in material science labs where scientists work backward from ideal outcomes, engineering fibers that meet exacting standards for performance while addressing the environmental challenges of synthetic textiles.
Conventional thinking suggests sustainability and performance exist in opposition, that choosing one requires sacrificing the other. Advanced material science reveals this not to be true. When innovating at the fiber level, as we do, it becomes possible to create materials that excel in both areas simultaneously.
24/7 Legging 25" - Black
The 24/7 Legging stretches from hip to ankle in double-layer fabric that feels supportive and luxurious without any restrictive squeeze. <...
Better engineering actually creates better performance, better performance creates better comfort.
Smart Fibers That Think Ahead
True material advancement happens where chemistry meets intention. An example of this would be our usage of CiCLO® technology which represents this intersection perfectly. A sustainable textile ingredient added during fiber creation that fundamentally changes how materials interact with their environment.
Instead of simply coating finished fabrics, which is often done in materials to add an extra feature to the fabric. CiCLO® is actually added into the fiber's structure during creation. This process creates biodegradable areas throughout the material, allowing naturally occurring microbes to break down the fibers in the same way they would natural materials like wool.
The innovation lies in its subtlety. CiCLO®-treated fibers look, feel, and perform exactly like regular synthetics when you wear them. The technology remains dormant until fibers enter environments where natural breakdown can occur nearing an end of life scenario for the garment. Only then, the microbes begin breaking down the material until they leave no trace.
Performance Without Compromise
The choice to use CiCLO® technology in our Essential Movement Collection centers around our desire to use sustainable textile innovations to maintain or enhance performance rather than sacrificing it. For SAISEI's Movement collection, this means fabrics engineered for higher-impact activities maintain their compression, stretch recovery, and moisture management capabilities wear after wear. Likewise, seamless construction techniques that define our garments work seamlessly with CiCLO®-treated materials, creating pieces that perform at the highest level no matter what level of performance or support you need.
Addressing the Microfiber Challenge
Synthetic textiles shed tiny fibers every time you wash them, something that's become more widely understood as environmental awareness has grown. These microfibers are too small for regular washing machine filters to catch, so they end up making their way through water systems where these small microfiber synthetics live forever. CiCLO® technology changes this equation. When our treated fabrics shed microfibers during washing, those fibers break down naturally in the environment just like organic materials do, rather than accumulating indefinitely in our ecosystems.
24/7 Legging 25" - Black
The 24/7 Legging stretches from hip to ankle in double-layer fabric that feels supportive and luxurious without any restrictive squeeze. <...
Beyond Material Innovation
The most exciting advances happen when breakthrough materials meet smart construction methods. Together, they create possibilities that neither could achieve alone. Think about how most clothes are made: large fabric pieces get cut into pattern shapes, then sewn together (traditional ‘cut and sew’). All those fabric scraps on the cutting room floor represent waste that's just accepted as normal.
SAISEI's seamless approach works differently. Our garments emerge nearly complete from specialized knitting machines that create three-dimensional fabrics, needing minimal finishing while creating almost no waste. It's not just about using less material, it's about using the material we need in a smarter way.
Quality as Environmental Strategy
The honest truth is the most environmentally responsible choice of manufacturing would be to create nothing at all, and for consumers to simply not consume. For most of us, this is not a realistic option. We believe one of the most powerful ways to reduce environmental impact might be choosing clothes that last longer and perform better. When pieces maintain their quality through extended wear, you replace them less often, extending not only their lifespan but also our enjoyment of them.
Our materials are designed for the long term. Technical fabrics keep their supportive structure through countless wears and washes. Recovery properties ensure garments bounce back to their original shape. Our silhouettes are timeless and thoughtfully designed to be wearable season after season. We design every garment to be worn and loved for years, maintaining its premium feel and timeless character.
The Next Chapter
The next wave of textile innovation will likely continue on the current path, from deeper connections between performance and environmental benefits. Materials that actively help environmental health while improving human experience, representing the cutting edge of responsible design.
We believe the most meaningful sustainable materials should ask nothing of you. They should simply feel better, perform better, and quietly address environmental challenges beneath the surface. The future belongs to garments that make responsibility feel like luxury, because increasingly, they are one and the same.
Waist
Hip
Chest
| Measurement | XS US 0–2 |
S US 2–4 |
M US 6–8 |
L US 10–12 |
XL US 14–16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist (in) | 25-27 | 27-29 | 29-31 | 31-37 | 37-40 |
| Hip (in) | 34-36 | 36-38 | 38-40 | 40-43 | 43-46 |
| Chest (in) | 32-34 | 34-36 | 36-38 | 38-40 | 40-42.5 |
