Hungarian company awarded for smart sailing apparel

20 Apr '21

2 min read

Pic: 878 brand

The 878 brand, which unveiled the world's first smart sailing apparel designed, manufactured and developed in Hungary around a month back, has won the Red Dot Product Design Award 2021 - the prestigious international design recognition – for the product. The award has been given for quality, innovation, unique appearance, and functionality of the apparel.

The lead designer of the sailing apparel is Lilla Majer who is also a partner of the company. The designing team members include Marcell Nagy, Roland Mákl and Richárd Tóbiás.

The 878 premium sailing apparel combines manufacturing technology, digital solutions and material innovation with unique design. This enables both leisure sailors and professional athletes to perform better.

The sailing apparel is made of a Nobel Prize-winning material, graphene, and manufactured in the company's own factory in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. The product in addition to being much lighter than an average sailing suit, is completely waterproof and perfectly customisable thanks to 3D body scanning. With the product and material innovations, as well as smart, built-in digital solutions, these sailing suits significantly enhance athletes’ performance and enjoyment of the sport.

There were thousands of nominations from around the world for the Red Dot Award. A professional jury of fifty members shortlisted the best ones. In addition to being included in the Red Dot Design Yearbook 2021/2022, the winning entries, including the 878 sailing apparel, are also part of the “Design on the Stage” exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany.

“We are very pleased and honoured to receive this prestigious award, especially because our market entry is still relatively fresh. This award is also seen as a great recognition that our niche products can represent real design and product development values in the global market,” said István Papp, CEO of 878.

The company has been working for sustainability. Only chemical-free and environmentally friendly materials are used in the 878 sailing apparel. The process also minimises water consumption. As part of its social responsibility programme, the company allocates a part of its profit to water and ocean clean-up initiatives.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)