Apollo at a Microscopic Level
The Evolution of the Apollo
We’ve constantly been improving and modifying our flagship shirt, the Apollo, by increasing it’s performance, natural look and durability.
2012 Apollo : We launched the Apollo series of garments featuring NASA Phase Change Materials for temperature regulation.
2013 Apollo 2: We launched the Apollo 2 featuring a low-profile collar, and new fiber in which the PCMS are extruded into the fiber of the yarn, so that they last the life of the garment.
2017 Apollo 3: We launched our third generation with an improved collar and knit structure for durability and new construction techniques to allow variety.
2019 Apollo Brushed: We launched our brushed variant where the surface is peached through a series of ceramic rollers for an ultra soft finish.
2020 Apollo Recycled: Our latest iteration introduced recycled polyester from plastic bottles, for over 50% from recycled content. This helps reduce the carbon footprint of our flagship fabric by 28% with no compromise in performance.
One great Fiber in Four different Fabrics Textures
To give more options for stylistic choice we’ve expanded this great technology to offer four different fabric options:
Apollo Solid: The original fabric, known for solids and its pique structure. Introduced in 2012, but now in its third iteration.
Apollo Heather: Launched in 2016 using Cationic Dyeing, to give multi-tone, natural heathers.
Apollo Oxford: Launched in 2017 known for its Birdseye texture the Oxford allows a variety of textures with more breathability.
Apollo Brushed: We’re debuting our latest offering, which gives the Solid, Heather and Oxford versions of the Apollo fabric a soft, cotton-like hand feel and a matte aesthetic.
What’s new with Apollo Brushed:
We use a special Italian fabric finishing machine, with ceramic brushing rollers to lightly “peach” the surface of the Apollo fabric giving it a cotton-like texture.
Softer - because of the "peached" surface.
Less Shiny - because light is reflected in many directions, it creates less of a mirrored surface.
Better Snag Resistance - because the fibers are pre-cut, they are harder to snag.
Apollo Brushed - Up Close
The differences between the Apollo and Apollo Brushed are noticeable both by touch and visual inspection, but with a high-power microscope, we’re able to take an even deeper look.
Apollo at 200x Zoom: Here you can see the relatively flat surface.
Apollo Brushed at 200x Zoom: Here you can see that there are little fibers that are going across the fabric in addition to the knit direction. These are the fibrils that give a soft-sensation, by stimulating the nerve endings on our fingertips.
Apollo at 1000x Zoom: Now, you can see that the yarns are bundles of individual filaments, but they're all in the same geometric plane. See those white specs? Those are the Phase-Change-Materials in solid phase.
Apollo Brushed at 1000x Zoom at a higher Depth of Focus: The same view as above, but we've pulled the focus up - now you can see these fibrils are standing several microns away from the surface of the fabric giving that soft touch. This shows that the surface is uneven and reflects the light away in different directions compared to a flat, mirror-like surface.
