We talk about hoofed spiders with the founder of Outlier clothing

Outlier’s founder Abe Burmeister is a designer who joined the world of clothing manufacturing over five years ago. His clothing – created with cutting edge fabrics – is touted as high-tech and very chic, but what frustrates Burmeister is how slowly the clothing industry is moving.

His latest creation, a rolltop knapsack, uses a unique material to create one of the lightest and strongest backpacks available. The fact that Burmeister is even using this material – a “nonwoven composite of Dyneema brand ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)” – is odd in an industry that hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years.

I asked Burmeister about trends in clothing materials, why he makes stuff out of UHMWPE, and what we can expect from materials in the future (including whether or not we’ll wear stuff made by spiders with hooves.) Enjoy.

Technotopia is a podcast about a better future by John Biggs. You can subscribe in Stitcher or iTunes and download the MP3 here.