WL Gore & Associates is the company behind GORE-TEX. After decades of collaborations with major outdoor and streetwear brands (several articles available on this site), the American multinational launched its Viev brand to sell its flagship fabric directly to consumers.
WL Gore & Associates was founded in 1958 by Wilbert Lee Gore and his wife Genevieve. The family business originally found success with the invention of Multi-Tet cable, a flat multicore cable used in computers, which led to the company’s first patent. Bob Gore, the son of the two founders, joined the company in 1963 after earning a PhD in chemical engineering. In 1969, during multiple experiments, he discovered that the material used to insulate cables, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), could be expanded. This is how GORE-TEX was born. Bob Gore has received several awards and prizes for his discovery, which is also used extensively in medicine. Gore is one of the 200 largest private companies in the United States. Having started in the basement of the family home, it now employs more than 10,000 people in over 50 locations in East Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas.
The new brand name VIEV stands for « Variation in Everything » and refers to the first name of the company’s co-founder, Genevieve Gore.
With Viev, WL Gore & Associates is moving to DTC (direct retail). This label will allow users to directly purchase products made of GORE-TEX fabric, which is water-resistant, durable and highly breathable.
Launching on October 21, 2021, Viev introduced a 1st flagship product for women : the Gemma jacket, constructed with a GORE-TEX shell and insulating PrimaLoft interior. This product is priced at 1300$.
The new brand’s addition to the product line explains, « This is not just a jacket. It’s warmth in a whiteout, shelter from a downpour and an invisibility cloak deploying stealthily among a crowd. »
The VIEV brand is expected to release a wider range of women’s products during the final months of the year, with men’s collections launching in 2022. For now, we don’t know if WL Gore & Associates will continue to sell its GORE-TEX fabric to strong brands like adidas or Converse, which have helped it expand in fashion world… Stay tuned !
