Wearable Textile System Design for Health Protection | SHEL COVID Vest

During COVID, most protective solutions focused on hard products — masks, shields, and barriers. But there was a gap in wearable systems that could:

• Integrate into daily behavior
• Provide functional protection
• Remain comfortable over extended use
• Be scalable for production

Designing a textile-based product for this context introduced additional challenges:

• Balancing protection with wearability
• Ensuring comfort during long durations
• Creating a system that users would consistently adopt
• Designing for manufacturability under time-sensitive conditions

studioFAR led the wearable textile system design, including:

• Soft goods construction and pattern development
• Material strategy for comfort and performance
• Functional integration of protective elements
• Ergonomic design for extended wear
• Design for manufacturing (DFM) and scalability

The focus was on creating a product that worked in real-world conditions — not just conceptually.

1. Wearable System Design

The vest was designed as a system — not just a garment.

We considered:

• How the product interacts with the body over time
• Movement, flexibility, and fit
• Ease of use in everyday environments

2. Material Strategy

Material selection was critical to balancing:

• Breathability
• Comfort
• Durability
• Functional performance

The goal was to create a product users would actually wear consistently.

3. Ergonomics & Comfort

Extended wear introduced unique constraints.

We focused on:

• Weight distribution
• Contact points with the body
• Minimizing restriction of movement

Comfort was not secondary — it was essential to product success.

4. Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

Given the urgency of the problem, the product needed to be manufacturable quickly and reliably.

We aligned the design with:

• Available materials
• Scalable production methods
• Efficient assembly processes