When you look beyond the defined description of an industry, it allows you to see what others
cannot. When you stand apart from your competition,
you gain a different perspective. Within this difference is where you find the
innovators, the disruptors, the game-changers.
This is where true
entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs,
and Travis Kalanik carve out
unique positions that can change entire industries. Apple products, Uber Rides,
and Tesla Cars are engineered for simplicity.
A lot of work has gone in to how
effortless these products seem to the consumer.
People assume that simple
is easy. It’s anything but.
Today, I was able to witness this lesson first-hand when I
visited the Californian offices of Maceoo,
a fashion brand that uses high-tech engineering to create highly fashionable
clothing. Engineering isn’t a word that I would have associated with fashion,
but after spending the day with Maceoo’s
founder, Mehdi Raad, it didn’t just seem reasonable, it began to feel like a
glimpse into the future of fashion.
Mehdi Raad comes to fashion via an unconventional route – his previous career being in tech as an
Apple affiliate. Maceoo believed that some of the engineering practices and
principles used on Apple products would translate into fashion.
The goal was to create an engineered fit using futuristic
fabrics. The garments should have a sense of style,
but they should also be as easy to wear as our most comfortable house clothes.
To achieve off-the-rack designs that would look great on almost anyone, Maceoo
needed data. Lots of data.
Maceoo collected data from
30 million people and created an algorithmn
(essentially their “secret recipe”) that could be used to make clothing that
looks great from every angle. A cutting system was
developed so that the individual pieces of a garment could be cut to
exact specifications every time. Maceoo
isn’t all about technology though, as the final
construction is performed by a skilled artisan. A mix of modern and man.
The Italian fabrics used in Maceoo
garments are beyond wearable. No sweat, no wrinkles, natural stretch – these
items don’t just look good they make the wearing feel good. Maceoo claims that
customer feedback shows a clear uptick in confidence, work success, time saved getting dressed, romantic
success, and even posture and health.
I remained skeptical,
particularly on the last point. How could a garment
make you feel healthier? When I tried on my first Maceoo suit, Maceoo
asked how I felt. It feels absurd to draw on the old saying that the clothing
makes the man, but from top to bottom I really
did feel my best self. As I sit here writing this article, my body is hunched over a keyboard, but in that suit earlier today, I almost felt taller.
Whether the garments can do everything that Maceoo claims, I
can’t say, but I can attest to the quality and fit of what I tried on. It’s no
surprise that John Travolta, Lady Gaga, and famous athletes are asking Maceoo to dress them for special events. When I
bring it up, Maceoo laughs at this attention. He’s happy
to help anyone look good. But his focus remains on making ordinary people look
as extraordinary as a celebrity.
To his mind, wearers of Maceoo
can do, earn, and achieve more in life. Sometimes it takes a unique point of
view to discover a universal truth. Sometimes it takes a high-tech approach to leave a very human impression.
One thing is for certain, succeed or fail, Maceoo will continue pushing the boundaries and
dragging fashion into the future.
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