In March 2020, when the pandemic shuttered offices, one of few silver linings was ditching the commute. Now, as the world comes to rights, the schlep back to a city desk after the home comforts of Zoom calls in sweats and slippers might feel particularly tedious. But for Austrian label AlphaTauri, this sort of everyday humdrum is what drives its creative wheels. It sees clothes not as just mere embellishment, but as tools that can enhance the mundane aspects of modern life – including the daily commute.

The brand, which opened its first London boutique in Knightsbridge this month, was founded in 2016 as the fashion arm of the Red Bull empire that also includes Formula 1 teams Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri. And while labels peddling technical apparel are two a penny these days, AlphaTauri’s fashion-meets-function approach has the same buzzy effervescence found in those distinctive red and blue cans.

Murat Acevit, chief product officer, says this dynamism is due to its ties with the fastest race on Earth: ‘Our relationship with F1, which is itself an innovative, functional engineering technological organisation, provides that credible link with true design innovation,’ he explains. ‘Our aim is to translate that into clothing that can deal with the everyday challenges the urban consumer faces, by using smart solutions to build a high-performance wardrobe that’s considered and stylish.’

This appetite for thoughtful design is evident in the brand’s pioneering work in fabric technologies. Since its inception, it has worked with Swiss company Schoeller Textiles AG – a leading light in cutting-edge fabrics – to develop forward-thinking materials. ‘Schoeller is a great partner,’ says Acevit. ‘Its Innovation Kitchen is the ideal environment to experiment with new, unconventional fabrics and functionalities. We also push them to dig deeper with research as we look at things through a different lens and want to know how we can improve a product.’

In just six years, the fruits of this alliance are apparent, with the brand debuting new fabrics that perform head and shoulders above market equivalents. Taurobran®, its signature patented textile, for example, is manufactured with an e-spinning technique, using an electrical charge to form microscopic fibres into an ultra-lightweight cloth that’s waterproof with a breathability and softness unmatched by other technical materials. In addition, its seamless 3D-knitting technique ensures second-skin comfort, while eliminating traditional garment stress points and reducing manufacturing waste. But for the 24/7 urbanite, AlphaTauri’s Heatable Capsule Collection will qualify as the niftiest concept.

Consisting of bomber jackets, gilets and now, for AW22, a trench and commuter jacket, the range regulates the wearer’s body temperature through an app that can be controlled with your phone or smartwatch – or directly via the garment itself. The seed of the idea began with a team journey via Salzburg Airport during particularly changeable weather, when temperature fluctuations both outdoors and indoors prompted the conversation around heat-regulating wearables. Developed over the course of five years, the Heatable line debuted in spring 2021, but this autumn sees the launch of the 2.0 range – its most visionary yet.

As with the first generation, the brand recruited Deutsche Telekom AG to further refine the app, which now includes advanced capabilities to allow the wearer to save their temperature “sweet spot”.

‘The app has been overhauled to remember your preferred temperature and now also offers enhanced controls where, for example, the back of the jacket and pockets can be heated independently,’ explains Acevit. For anyone who’s experienced the climatic disparity from city street to Tube line at rush hour in mid-winter, this might just be what you’ve been waiting for.

The garments can be powered by any universal powerbank, which generates heat that travels through conductive yarns embedded in the Schoeller-developed shell fabric. This presented its own obstacles during development when it came to keeping the range low-maintenance – a key consideration for all AlphaTauri pieces.

‘We wanted it to handle the challenges of daily use – it needed to be waterproof and still function as intended and if it got dirty, you should be able to wash it,’ explains Acevit. ‘We worked with our partners to make sure the conductive yarns wouldn’t be affected by this.’ The result is a resilient garment that is fully machine washable. Just unplug the powerbank and throw it in the drum with the weekly wash – there’s no need to shell out for specialist dry cleaning.

And in typical AlphaTauri fashion, the innovation goes beyond thermostatic fine-tuning. This season’s trench incorporates an advanced corkshell® lamination and eco-friendly wool lavalan® padding for enhanced heat retention, while the commuter jacket is fully reflective with a foldable bike skirt and stowable hood.

It is, quite probably, the smartest clothing you’ll have on your back for some time. And anything that brings that warm, fuzzy feeling to the daily commute is certainly worth its sartorial salt.

The AlphaTauri Knightsbridge boutique is now open at 171-175 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1NF; alphatauri.com