Paul Harvey

A deep dive into GORE-TEX by Document Studios for SNS Illustration by Gangbox

Paul is the head designer of C.P. Company, together with Alessandro Pungetti. He moved to Italy having studied design at Central Saint Martins and has since helped define what Italian sportswear means today through his work with Sabotage, TEN C, Stone Island and now, C.P. Company. Even if you don’t own a garment from any of those brands you will have jackets in your wardrobe indirectly in debt to Paul’s work.

Can you remember the first time you heard about GORE-TEX, when and where was that?

Quite literally last century. I think about 1980, the first time I ever went skiing. I bought a The North Face shell, which I still have. And still use, for that matter. Before that, back in England, if you wanted a waterproof jacket, you’d have to go either Barbour or Belstaff. I started working with GORE-TEX around 1988/9, I think. I designed the first three or four collections for Nordica when it was bought by Benetton.

GORE-TEX is very much interlinked with functionality - what role does functionality and purpose play in your work?

If you believe most of the press releases/interviews, it is the god by which I live. But that’s not true, pure functionality would be very boring indeed. There would be no need for ‘fashion designers’. But I do believe things should work and have always tried to avoid unnecessary add-ons. So, if a jacket, a pair of trousers or a bag has principally to be waterproof, GORE-TEX will always be one of the key contenders. But by no means the only one.

What role does it play in your own wardrobe?

GORE-TEX or functionality? GORE-TEX surprisingly very little but that’s because I’m lucky enough to live in Italy and rain is really not much of a problem in these parts. When I do get to go skiing though, I still have my 1980s The North Face GORE-TEX shell and an early 1990s Arc’teryx GORE-TEX jacket, one of the first pieces they ever made. They are both still perfect as the outer layer. Functionality? Strangely, in a big, big way. I’m like the pizza cook who never eats pizza. I have a no-nonsense, very, very boring wardrobe of exactly the same pieces that I put on every day and never even think about it. Very, very functional.

How do you define the term ‘comfort’ in clothing, in particular technical apparel?

Comfort psychologically or physically? Psychologically I’m comfortable in my jeans and T-shirt as maybe someone from the City [London’s financial district] is comfortable in a suit. Physically someone could feel psychologically comfortable in a GORE-TEX garment because they know they are not going to get wet. ‘Comfort’ means you feel good about how you are dressed. For a million different reasons.

What words would you use to describe GORE-TEX as a technology but also in terms of its relevance?

In a very pragmatic way, I find it really interesting. We have this super delicate membrane of ePTFE, which in an incredibly primitive way does what our skin does, it breathes and is waterproof. We can’t make anything from this membrane, it is too delicate, so we must protect it on the outside from abrasion and on the inside from a different type of abrasion. And when we sew it, we make holes in it which don’t ‘heal’, so we have to tape it to close the holes. “A consequence of our evolution?” Undoubtably two- or three-layer fabrics, pioneered by GORE-TEX, have become the benchmark for waterproof fabrics.

Any moments you can think of when GORE-TEX technology saved your day?

Yep. The last time Alessandro and I were in Tokyo for a lightning C.P. Company shop tour the weather was appalling, an emergency-bought GORE-TEX jacket saved the trip. But professionally, GORE-TEX technology really made my day three or four months ago: for the C.P. Company AW22 collection we showed a garment-dyed GORE-TEX shell jacket with detachable lining and the colours that came out due to the three-layer technology, the taping and the garment dyeing process were simply unbelievable.

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