Life at the equator offers us a glimpse of our future - a world of non-stop sun, heat, humidity and rainstorms. So we’ve built the Equator Shirt to equip you for it. To build a shirt that can work in all 40,000km of the equator we started with a world-class base material – a rare cotton called Karnak Menoufi. One of the lightest, softest fabrics on the planet, Karnak Menoufi is a silk-like cotton that’s only found in the Nile Delta, and only grows in the years when rain, soil and wind conditions are perfect.

While Karnak Menoufi is already extremely soft and robust, we’ve added durability and stretch by combining the cotton with elastane and ultrafine nylon in Italy. Together the combination is so soft and lightweight that it has to be spun and woven with the same techniques and on the same looms that are used for silk. The result is an advanced, abrasion resistant material which feels almost silk-like next to your skin.

As global temperatures rise and climate zones shift, clothes have to respond. Weighing just 230 grams, the Equator Shirt is the most technical lightweight collared shirt ever built. Engineered for the heat, the Equator Shirt is highly breathable, ultra lightweight and packable – so it’s perfect for any adventure. Whether it’s on your back or in your backpack you’ll never notice it’s there.

We’ve built 12 concealed air vents throughout the shirt to cool you down, with three different methods of engineering. Designed for hot, humid and arid environments, each vent opens and closes either with body movement or with zip closures. And we’ve put them in the places you’ll need them the most – across your back, under your arms, and on your chest.

The last 8 air vents are positioned across your upper back. These are engineered to stay open and bring constant airflow. Two layers of fabric overlap and are securely fixed with bartacks. It means they won’t blow open and your skin will stay protected, but the air can flow in.

Even the way the shirt buttons up has been engineered to work with sweaty hands and hostile conditions. Rather than being sewn onto the shirt, the buttons on the front of the shirt have all been threaded onto a high-strength woven polyester tape that runs the shirt’s entire length. The tape is then stitched onto reinforced panels above and below each button. The construction allows the shirt to stretch and flex with you, as each button is free to slide 2cm up and down its section of military tape.