This techwear glossary is a work in progress. Please let us know which expressions you want us to explain.
2L, 2.5L, 3L Short for a garment’s number of fabric layers. A thoroughly protective and breathable Gore-Tex Pro jacket will have three layers. Different materials and technologies require different types of layering.
Articulation Clothing features that promote freedom of movement by three-dimensional design, adding space and/or stretch to particularly dynamic areas of a garment, such as knees and elbows, so that they can flex and bend freely without moving the whole garment around. Ideally this means that the garment moves with an active body without restricting it.
Cyberpunk A genre of science fiction generally centered on a dystopian future not very far from our own time.
Delamination When a fabric fails, fracturing into layers.
Diaper pants See Drop crotch.
Discord Chat app similar to Slack. There is a server called Techwear General where discussion on techwear takes place.
DIY Short for Do It Yourself. There is a big DIY subculture within techwear, with enthusiasts repairing their clothes and creating everything from simple items like belts or key-chains, to bags and jackets.
Drop crotch A style of pant crotch witch hangs down rather than clings close to the body, generally offering superior ventilation and freedom of movement, while reducing chafing.
DWR Short for Durable Water Repellent. A coating for textiles that makes them resistant to water saturation. DWR does not make a garment perfectly waterproof but, to a point, makes water form beads and trickle off the fabric instead of it wetting through.
Fit How a garment fits the body, usually described in terms like skinny, slim fitting, oversized. Sometimes fit is short for outfit.
Fit pic A picture of a person in an outfit. Generally shared on Instagram, Reddit and/or Techwear General.
Greyman A style within techwear that is more subdued or even stealthy – technical clothes that look ordingary, with invisible functionality.
Gusset A piece of fabric added into the seam of a garment, for example in the crotch of a pant or in the armpit of a jacket, to reduce and add freedom of movement.
Hikercore A style of clothing associated with hiking. Similar to techwear in that it focuses on functional clothes.
Jacket sling A strap or set of straps on a jacket that adds the functionality that a user can wear the jacket strapped to his/her back when he/she so prefers.
Knit
Lamination
Lunarcore A techwear style where the aesthetic is more space age than cyberpunk, often with brighter colors.
Membrane
Pants/shoe interaction (PSI) The way the pants meet and interact with the shoes in an outfit.
PSI Short for pants/shoe interaction, in other words the way the pants meet and interact with the shoes in an outfit.
Raglan sleeve A sleeve that extends all the way to the collar, instead of attaching to the torso panel of the garment. Normally gives the wearer a greater freedom of movement, and a more sloping shape to the shoulders.
Reddit The home of many online communities, one of which is Techwear Clothing.
Seam tape
Stacking When pants have extra length and crease on the lower part of the leg.
Subreddit A community on Reddit.
Taobao The world’s biggest e-marketplace, owned by Alibaba. In the techwear community it is often regarded as a place to find cheap, low quality clothing.
Taper A pant becoming gradually narrower toward the feet, rather than being straight or boot cut. This styling is popular in techwear.
TCHWR This site got its name from techwear, with the vowels stripped out, symbolizing a focus on techwear stripped down to the essentials. You can read more on the About page.
Techwear A style of clothing focusing on high tech functionality, primarily for urban settings, with aesthetic influences from sci-fi and in particular cyberpunk. Read more about the style in this article.
#Techwear The hashtag moniker for techwear content on Instagram. Many of the outfits in this category belong to an edgy style, typically with lots of straps and face masks but with little actual functionality. Thus #techwear generally denotes a techwear substyle that is more cyberpunk cosplay than utilitarian clothing.
Techwear Clothing A community on Reddit, devoted to techwear. Found at www.reddit.com/r/techwearclothing
Techwear General A server on Discord, where community members discuss techwear, share outfits, etc.
Techwear ninja A techwear enthusiast who goes all in on black clothes with an edgy aesthetic, looking more or less like a cyberpunk ninja.
TWG See Techwear General.
Woven