History of the Craft brand
What is the history of the Craft brand? The brand was officially founded as Craft of Sweden in 1977 in the southern part of the Swedish kingdom, in the town of Borås. The name Craft has several meanings - craftsmanship in translation, skill and skill. Craft of Sweden - "Swedish craftsmanship". Founded by Anders Bengtsson, he began developing a material for the base layer of clothing that wicks moisture away from the skin. Swedes have a rich history in the textile and clothing industry. Craft begins with the production of functional underwear for athletes. Bengtsson tested the prototypes by weighing his products after exercise. In addition to basic clothing layers, the company soon began to produce second layers (focused on fleece material) and outerwear.
Anders Bengtsson had a desire to develop a fabric that could wick moisture from the inner layer of clothing to the outside. As early as 1973, the Swedish inventor went for a run in his very first set of Craft underwear. The undershirt was made of polyester fabric and he felt that the first drops of sweat were better wick away. Further development followed, the search for the best knitting techniques of the material, he found the ratio of 3 stitches outward and 2 stitches inward to be the most effective, constantly testing what works best. The first foundations were discovered just then.
They also worked on an army order. The task was to design a garment that would perfectly protect Air Force pilots from freezing if they were forced to eject from the cockpit of a fighter jet. Pilots are exposed to extreme physical stress, so they require quick and efficient sweat drainage. In crisis situations, they get from the warm environment of the aircraft, where it is more than 20 °C, into the atmosphere, where the temperature is up to 70 °C lower. The pilots were quickly hypothermic due to their wet, sweaty clothing.
Craft is the first on the market to promote the now generally known principle of dressing in three functional layers - thus creating the Craft 1-2-3 Principle. Thus, society gradually begins to learn to wear a complete system of functional clothing for sports. A prominent figure in the development is the Swedish downhill legend Ingemar Stenmark. Subsequent development follows the same rule, but 3 thinner layers of functional clothing.
After the functional underwear comes another functional layer on the body, which is supposed to further wick sweat away from the body and at the same time create an insulating warm layer. It is covered with a third layer that protects the user against adverse environmental influences such as wind, rain or snow. Thanks to this, the body remains dry and warm throughout the exercise, reducing the risk of getting cold and feeling cold.
From 1996 to the present, Craft specializes in 3 sports: cross-country skiing, running and cycling . People also use products in a number of other disciplines. Throughout the history of Craft, much has changed, but the philosophy of the company remains the same as when Anders Bengtsson was searching for the dream functional material. Even the logo – six dots – symbolizes this philosophy. The first largest dot symbolizes drops of sweat, which slowly break down into smaller particles thanks to the work of the individual layers of clothing. In this way, it can be better removed from the body and evaporated further away from the body. Craf currently offers functional clothing for running , cycling, training , cross-country skiing and outdoor , and you can also find running shoes in their range.
