Blue Morpho Jacket 2017
An experimental hardshell that recreates the iridescent wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly.
The Blue Morpho Jacket was one of our earliest and most experimental pieces. It’s a fully waterproof outer shell that recreates one of nature’s most brilliant solutions to high visibility – the iridescent wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly. The microscopic scales that cover the butterfly’s wings reflect light to create an iridescent shimmering blue that’s constantly shifting colour and can be seen by pilots flying over the rainforest from a kilometre away.
We used highly reflective blue glass spheres on the surface of our jacket to mimic the microstructures on the surface of its wing, making it ultra-visible from long range. Each jacket was engineered with lasers, resin and over 2 billion of these microscopic glass spheres to create a crazily reflective jacket that can shift from matt blue to a bionic blue in a nanosecond.
Ultimately we stopped making clothing out of glass as it lacked the durability we wanted. And this batch of jackets wasn't made available at the time because of imperfections in the material and inconsistencies in the colour. But if you’re prepared to forgive its faults, visually it remains one of our most iconic pieces.
Technical Details
During the day the jacket is matt blue
As the Blue Morpho Jacket develops colour through structural colouration just like the Blue Morpho butterfly, it acts like a mirror for whatever light conditions you expose it to. When you’re inside or in subdued light conditions during the day, the jacket is a matt blue. It’s only when the jacket catches the light as you move around indoors that you’ll see flashes of brightness across the surface.
At night you can look bionic
When the jacket is exposed to a camera flash, headlamp or searchlight at night you get the full bionic effect as your face and body seem to disappear and only the jacket remains. So this is what your jacket would look like under a headlamp or helicopter searchlight out on a mountain at night. The black dots and streaks are water droplets which temporarily prevent the glass beads reflecting light back at the camera.
Size + Fit
The Blue Morpho Jacket has a slightly oversized fit.
Size | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
Fits chest | 83 - 90 | 91 - 98 | 99 - 106 | 107 - 114 | 115 - 122 | 123 - 130 |
Fits waist | 71 - 76 | 76 - 81 | 81 - 86 | 86 - 91 | 91 - 96 | 96 - 101 |
Size | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
Fits chest | 33 - 36 | 36 - 39 | 39 - 42 | 42 - 45 | 45 - 48 | 48 - 51 |
Fits waist | 28 - 30 | 30 - 32 | 32 - 34 | 34 - 36 | 36 - 38 | 38 - 40 |