What will the world look like in the distant future? That question takes centre stage at Taste The Future, Glenfiddich’s new platform for designers to share their ideas about the future. Invited by the Scottish whisky distillery, Amsterdam-based textile studio BYBORRE is the first to present their vision of what clothes we will be wearing in 12, 18 and 30 years, the ages of Glenfiddich’s three most iconic single malts. The midlayer jacket designed for 2041 immediately proved so popular that it has since been decided to release a limited edition version.

When it comes to whisky, many people think of age-old traditions and feelings of nostalgia. Glenfiddich takes a completely different approach with Taste The Future, the new platform through which the whisky brand wants to invite people to look further ahead and think about future challenges. For example, what creative and radical opportunities does the fashion industry see in terms of technology and sustainability? Instead of showing the next year’s collection, they are actually curious about the fashion of the distant future.

Clothing of the future is comfortable and grey

Borre Akkersdijk, co-founder of BYBORRE Studio, was immediately inspired by that challenge. With three different clothing concepts, the innovative designer sketches his future image of the fashion world in 2035, 2041 and 2053. Thus, with each leap into the future, fashion becomes more digital with an ever-increasing focus on sustainability and comfort. Moreover, the textile studio expects international regulations to evolve in such a way that clothing must be fully recyclable and largely made from recycled fibres.

Thus, the clothes for the year 2035 are undyed and grey in colour. The concept for 2041 is even more monotonous, being made of as few different materials as possible for yet better recycling. By 2053, 30 years from now, BYBORRE expects our lives to mostly take place in the digital world. “So besides sustainability, functionality is also prominent in our vision. We have therefore designed a universal suit, with the idea that it is the only outfit you need anymore,” Akkersdijk says.

To mark the launch of Taste The Future, the three clothing concepts were presented at a show with digital art installation at the NXT Museum in Amsterdam on 25 April. The limited edition line designed for 2041 will soon be available for pre-order via taste-the-future.nl.

Whisky as inspiration

The Taste The Future platform is an initiative of Glenfiddich. “Our whiskies are sometimes aged in cask for decades until they develop the right flavour. We wonder what the world will be like by the time the whisky we put in the cask this year matures,” said Mark Thomson, Brand Ambassador Glenfiddich.

The collaboration with BYBORRE specifically chose to take the 12, 18 and 30-year-old whiskies as inspiration for the clothing concepts. “After all, those varieties are the backbone of Glenfiddich. We like to push the boundaries of whisky and regularly innovate our flavours. But this range is still made the same way and we want to honour and protect that tradition. When our whisky is taken out of the barrel in 30 years’ time, the world will probably look completely different, but the whisky still tastes exactly the same as the whisky bottled today,” Thomson concludes.

Long-term platform

The Scotch distiller aims to create a long-term platform with Taste The Future, asking this future question to different maverick designers each time. “We are delighted that Borre and his team have kicked off the platform with their revolutionary and artful concepts that give a powerful impression of the future,” says Thomson. Like Glenfiddich, BYBORRE has an innovative spirit and impressive entrepreneurship. And that is reflected in the result,” said Britt Nagel, Brand Manager Glenfiddich.

The Taste The Future platform was developed in collaboration with Amsterdam-based creative agency Fitzroy. “In communication, the whisky world is characterised by tradition and, as a result, people often go back to the past. Glenfiddich is the maverick and therefore we wanted to look forward to the years 2035, 2041 and 2053 in particular with their three special single malt whiskies. A great idea on paper, but a huge challenge to make it happen. We are proud of the results and are already looking ahead to future campaigns,” said Marlon von Franquemont, Creative Director at Fitzroy.