This week, The Plum Edit team headed to Vollebak’s immersive pop-up space to speak directly with the brand's co-founder, Nick.
Founded nine years ago by Nick and his twin brother, Vollebak does not merely manufacture apparel; they actively construct the future of wearable technology.
Leaving behind established careers in advertising, the brothers set out to solve a fundamental problem facing the modern fashion industry: a distinct lack of raw, untethered material innovation.
Nick’s radical approach to design makes total sense when examining his background. Trained at the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture, he views garments through the lens of structural engineering, physics, and materiality rather than short-lived seasonal trends. That relentless drive has produced a catalogue of apparel that reads like a science-fiction manifesto. Vollebak is currently developing a high-performance bomber jacket crafted entirely out of crushed rock, as well as a belt made from an amorphous liquid metal, the exact material utilised in specialised robot gears sent to Saturn's moon, Titan. Further, utilising aramid fibres and ceramic coatings to create outerwear capable of surviving the planet's harshest environments.
The crown jewel of Vollebak’s current lineup is the Sonic Jacket. Built in close collaboration with FBFX, the legendary special effects costume house responsible for crafting original Star Wars Stormtrooper armour and custom film suits, this garment represents a radical merger of physical technology and the human nervous system.
The core concept was born out of a fascination with auditory and physical frequency. While typical human hearing spans from 20Hz to 20,000Hz, the physical human body absorbs vibrations far beyond these auditory borders.
Watch our full pop-up tour and interview with co-founder Nick below:
Without the rigid constraints of a traditional lab scientist, Nick tested the concept directly, firing frequencies ranging from 4Hz all the way up to 20,000Hz through the jacket while monitored by sensors and cameras. What he mapped out was a direct correlation between localized physical vibration and emotional response.
The core thesis behind the Sonic Jacket is both daring and scientifically grounded: Vollebak has created a piece of outerwear that actively interacts with your physical state. By adjusting sound frequencies transmitted through the garment, the jacket aims to help shift the wearer from high-adrenaline, high-stress states into deep, meditative relaxation at the turn of a dial.
Visually, the Sonic Jacket makes zero compromises. The design embraces a stark, functional aesthetic that looks as though it belongs aboard an interstellar mission. Featuring exposed wiring, visible tactile speakers, and heavy-duty connection nodes, the jacket wears its technology on the outside. Every visual element is born purely out of functional necessity.
The jacket is offered in striking minimalist white, deep stealth black, and high-visibility safety yellow. During the prototyping phase, Nick also embraced the accidental colour variations provided by FBFX, incorporating orange, blue, and grey component clips into the final design story.
For Nick, the Sonic Jacket is not merely a seasonal product release; it represents the start of a multi-decade exploration into what clothing can achieve. He views its development as a major milestone in textile history, sitting alongside historical leaps like the creation of chainmail armour or the engineering of the Apollo spacesuits.
By merging architectural principles with costume design, advanced acoustics, and human biology, Vollebak continues to lead the charge into fashion's final frontier. Their pop-up space stands as a compelling testament to what happens when creators refuse to accept the traditional boundaries of garment design.
