Finisterre x ArkAir

Down among the maze of sewing machines, there’s a poster on the wall proclaiming: “The quality of endurance”. Arktis was launched by a former Royal Marine back in the 1980s, and has worked to those values ever since. But military types aren’t the only ones with a taste for functional quality. Back in 2003, when Finisterre founder Tom Kay was working on his first fleece, and looking at a utilitarian product maker who could produce something durable and long-lasting, he enlisted Arktis to produce a prototype. The company was right there at the birth of the brand we know today.

But while Arktis has maintained the focus on quality and durability in the years since, it has also broadened its ambition. In 2014 it launched ArkAir, a military-inspired streetwear brand. ArkAir fine-tunes the Arktis functionality, offering brighter prints, slimmer fits and more comfortable fabrics for the fashion-conscious. “It's easier to wear, more luxurious, with a nicer finish and better trims,” says Joe, who has worked in textile development for 40 years. “All the good bits you want.”

It’s easy to lose yourself in Arktis’s warren-like HQ, whether rifling through racks of camo on the production floor, or losing it over the cut of pockets and pouches on its range of jackets, smocks and backpacks.

“The fact it’s all made in the UK – and pretty much on our doorstep – is brilliant,” says Todd, who kickstarted the collaboration. Todd had long been keen to revive the trend for army surplus gear among Britain’s coldwater surfers. It was only after he reached out to ArkAir that he learned of Tom’s work with Arktis 15 years before. 

“We were very interested in working with each other to tailor their best specialist products to our market,” says Todd. “We couldn’t believe our luck. We tailored it, fitted it to our sizing, changed pockets and details and worked on the branding. And we started developing organic, recycled fabrics with their mill in Northern Ireland.”

But while a collaboration may seem natural in principle, that doesn’t mean the garments are easy to produce. Robert Domagalski is Arktis’s fabric cutter. He works in the centre of the room, at a sprawling wooden desk strewn with paper patterns and samples. A colleague describes Robert as the Arktis ‘cog’.

“Usually we work with the same standard patterns,” he says. “But this was all new. So not only do I have to think about how it will be used, and how to make the patterns, but how to make it easy to sew.” Robert grew up watching his father working with fabric, so has always had the gift of being able to work with patterns and see clearly how they will translate to three dimensions. He points to the first garment he designed and made himself from scratch – the pair of camo shorts he’s wearing while he works.

This creativity and collaboration sits at the core of the ArkAir brand. It has now spent four seasons collaborating with Palace, the skate brand. Last summer it launched its functional fashion tie-up with Comme des Garcons, which graced the Paris catwalk. ArkAir is now keen to absorb some of Finisterre’s expertise in sustainability.



But these collaborations bring other challenges, beyond physically making the clothes. You need a partner that buys into the authenticity and integrity of your label. And the garments you produce absolutely have to reflect the DNA of both parties.

It's one of the things we're most proud of within this collaboration and the fact that we revisit this partnership year after year is testament to the strength of this unique and enduring relationship.