Graphene Tie

The lightest, strongest, most conductive material ever discovered, we’ve been building world firsts with graphene since 2018. And now we’ve built a tie that’s superior to every other tie quite literally on an atomic level.

In 2018, we built the world’s first graphene jacket. We then spent 3 years working with the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester creating the world’s first Thermal Camouflage Jacket – a computer-programmable jacket designed to get us a little closer to an invisibility cloak. Our 2023 Graphene Jacket brought us one step closer to a graphene skin. And in 2024 our Double Graphene Puffer combined a graphene shell with graphene insulation for the first time.

The neck tie didn’t begin life in the boardroom. Like most menswear it was born on the battlefield. A badass group of 17th century Croatian mercenaries who were only fighting for the French in exchange for cold hard cash, wore knotted cloths around their necks to fasten their jackets. So far so cool. But back in France – and in what sounds like an early audition for Zoolander – Louis XIII adopted the look, started wearing it around the palace, and renamed it “la cravate” to add a bit of French flair. 

We can only presume that everyone around him told him they loved it – probably in order to not have their heads chopped off – because cut forward a few hundred years and the cravat hadn’t just stuck, it had evolved. It had spread from the palaces to the streets …and even gone international.

Almost exactly 100 years ago the tie had its last big moment with Jesse Langsdorf’s diagonal-cut design which allowed ties to drape and recover their shape easily. And this was the final breakthrough that was needed for mass adoption. It’s why your dad probably went to work in a tie. And his dad before him.

So here we are. We’re left with a piece of clothing hanging from your neck that appears to do absolutely nothing …Only history has a funny way of rhyming. So that’s not quite true. From Jordan Belfort to Gordon Gekko, the tie now says you mean business. James Bond and John Wick do their best ‘work’ in a tie. Deckard even wore a tie to hunt replicants in Blade Runner. It’s what you wear when you want to show you’re not here to mess about …which is kind of where it started off in the first place with the Croatian mercenaries.

So 100 years after the tie’s last upgrade, we’re bringing it back to the future with the world’s first Graphene Tie. If you’re looking to reverse engineer superhero gear, graphene is your material. Just one atom thick, but 200 times stronger than steel, it’s the lightest, strongest, most conductive material ever discovered.

To build the ties, graphene is added at the molecular level during yarn creation. The polymer base is melted and extruded – effectively pushed through microscopic nozzles – while powdered graphene oxide is introduced into the molten flow. As it cools, the graphene bonds permanently to the polymer, baking its properties into every fibre. The graphene’s microscopic lattice gives the surface a subtle, tessellated sheen, visible only in the right light.

Graphene conducts heat more efficiently than any other material on Earth, warming or cooling almost instantly – which while it’s great for our jackets and t shirts is likely useless in a tie. However graphene is also bacteriostatic – which means bacteria can’t grow on its surface, so it stays fresher and odour-free even after you’ve worn it a lot and not bothered to wash it. And the fabric is mixed with 30% elastane making it light and elastic, and helping it drape cleanly and knot perfectly. 

Every Graphene Tie is handmade by Seaward & Stearn – third-generation London tie makers who are based in their Bermondsey workshop on the banks of the River Thames. They hand cut, stitch, and finish every tie, ensuring precision folds and perfectly balanced blades. Their workshop now brings that craftsmanship to one of the most advanced materials on Earth.

Each tie is cut on the bias from a 7cm block, a width chosen to balance classic proportions with a contemporary, minimal silhouette. The internal interlining provides structure while keeping the drape fluid. Every fold and edge is pressed by hand so the tie sits flat, knots cleanly, and keeps its shape.