Feature Interview: Whitney Trimble - The philosophy behind FootJoy Apparel 2017

Purely focusing on golf is something that gives FootJoy an advantage in the apparel department, as everything they do is “geared around the game,” according to Whitney Trimble – Director of FootJoy Apparel.

Both the men and women’s ranges are expanding at FootJoy, with offerings looking stylish both on and off the course, while still maintaining the expected performance of a FootJoy product.

Trimble said: “I think with us, were solely focused on golf and everything that we develop is geared for the motion of a golf swing.

“I think whether its from the silhouette, the fabric, the design, even down to our collar systems, this is a patented collar system called StaDry and it's higher in the back, contours down and its got a little notch. So when it's raining and the waters coming down, it isn't going into the back of your neck.

“Everything that we do is geared around the game.”

“Women's clothing is slightly different construction. It's a lighter weight fabric but still 100% waterproof.

“This is our third launch of women's golf leisure and our trademark golf leisure. Really what its about is, it’s a product that takes you from the golf course to the office through to everyday routine, whatever that might be and it's multifunctional silhouette so all about comfort and layering.

“It works well together. Again, we kind of geared around layering. It's pretty exciting.

“Last year was our first launch and the reaction really took us back a little bit and really surprised us at how receptive the consumer was to FootJoy. So we're very excited about our third collection. It started in the US and we're moving it into the other parts of Europe.

“The men's apparel fashion range, the way we positioned our product is we looked at updated traditional designs.

“Like producing a more traditional striped shirt and then engineering it to give it a little colour pop. Similar to adding the striped backs and so it's more traditional styling but we’ve updated it by adding performance fabrications, moisture wicking, holds its colour, doesn't shrink, UV sun protection.

Traditional cotton t-shirts seem to be a thing of the past now, with many manufacturers moving towards performance fabrics. The technology in these garments do all sorts for golfers such as keeping them dry and allowing full body rotation.

Trimble said: “Everything is moving towards performance. Just the easy care aspect, the benefit of technology and a shirt that's not sticking to your body.

“The technologies and performance fabrics have improved so much over the last few years. We want it to feel like a cotton shirt but then you get all these benefits of a performance fabric.”

New to the 2017 rainwear range in the USA is the DryJoy Tour LTS. Trimble talked Golfshake through the technology used in the garment.

“Our latest DryJoys Tour LTS is all about making everyday playable and can be used for every type of weather condition you could experience on a golf course. The latest in our waterproof range, is the DryJoys Tour LTS and that's a lightweight construction, temperature regulating fabric and stretch fabric.

“The lightweight construction is based on stretch fabric and we've created a five handle design. Every time you hit a shot, you're folding over the fabric. The weight of the fabric, weight of the jacket, extra bulk eliminates the stretch of the fabric, because you're stitching it and not giving it maximised stretch.

“So for temperature regulating we're using a technology called thermalite and it's a knit construction, so we put it on the inside of the garment and it’s a hollow yarn and so your body heat traps inside the core of the yarn and will keep you warmer in cooler conditions.

“As your body temperature rises, it wicks the moisture and cools you down. So it’s a thermoregulator.

“We've got a great team in Fairhaven, Massachusetts of designers and product management teams and then we have a sourcing office in Asia.

“We've got an 18 month to two year process. These took longer to develop because it's not 100% waterproof and everything we do is design for the game of golf, so that's why we add stretch elements to the outwear because we want it to move with you.

“We've worked with our own moulds and suppliers to develop our own waterproofing system that is lightweight, breathable and quiet. Quiet is very important.”

To learn more about FootJoy’s latest apparel, visit the website here.