What happens when an eco-minded engineer, a world-class sailing league, and a wool-based jacket come together at sea? You get Mover—a sportswear startup with one rule: no plastic, ever.
Led by Nicolas Rochat, CEO and keynote speaker at Ocean Talks, Mover is setting a bold course through the world of technical clothing. Their mission: to make high-performance, sea-tested apparel from 100% natural fibers—no synthetics, no shortcuts.
And yes, it works in salt water.
Forget What You Think You Know About Wool
Wool might seem like an odd choice for racing gear. But this isn’t your grandfather’s sweater. It’s a hydrophobic, moisture-wicking, odour-resistant powerhouse—engineered to breathe, stretch, and repel water with zero chemical coatings.
“We don’t need synthetics,” Nicolas explains. “Natural fibres like wool and cotton can do more than people realize—especially when you engineer the weave for performance.”
Think windproof fleece made entirely from wool. Jackets using WWII-era high-density Ventile cotton—once worn by RAF pilots, now reimagined for sailing. And now: a brand-new compact wool weave so tight, it keeps water out like a bottle… and breathes like skin.
From the Alps to the Open Sea
Mover was born in the mountains, designing outerwear for skiers navigating cold, wet, and muddy conditions. But it wasn’t long before Nicolas saw a link between two extreme environments—snow and sea.
“In skiing, you fight sweat, cold, and weather all day. Sailing? Same,” he says. “So, we took everything we knew from the slopes and brought it onboard.”
Now, Mover is testing and tailoring kits for sailors tackling everything from warm regattas to multi-week ocean crossings—where comfort, durability, and hygiene aren’t just perks. They’re survival tools.
A New Kind of Uniform for a New Kind of Race
Enter SailGP, the high-octane, sustainability-driven sailing championship powered by nature. When Nicolas met their team through A Plastic Planet, things clicked fast. They needed gear. Muver had solutions.
“We found out their athletes were sweating through neoprene,” Nicolas recalls. “Uncomfortable. Hot. Designed for falling in—not racing hard.”
So Mover is working to change that—developing new onshore and offshore kits with comfort, protection, and freedom of movement in mind. No neoprene. No plastic. Just performance that makes sense.
What’s Next: The Sailors’ Collection
While details are still under wraps, Mover is already deep into collaboration with one of sailing’s biggest names. The project: a full natural-fibre kit for professional sailors. Think head-to-toe innovation, from base layers to outer shells—built for 10, 20, even 40 days at sea.
“These athletes need more than protection,” Nicolas says. “They need breathability, softness, and gear that doesn’t hold odour. Natural fibres give them all that.”
And it’s not just for pros. The lessons from these elite collections will shape the next generation of plastic-free gear for outdoor lovers everywhere.
Red Dot. Green Mission.
Mover recently took home a Red Dot Award for their wool-cotton hybrid jacket—voted Best Outdoor Jacket 2025. It’s a big win for a small team with a big mission: to change how we think about high-performance clothing.
Not just what it can do. But what it’s made of.
Where Performance Meets Purpose
What happens when cutting-edge sustainability meets elite-level performance? At the Dubai International Boat Show, stories like Mover’s radical approach to natural sportswear come to life.
From eco-engineering to design breakthroughs, DIBS is the platform that connects mission-led innovators with the audiences that matter—media, buyers, athletes, and decision-makers across land and sea.
If your brand is ready to redefine the rules—just like Muver is doing for technical apparel— DIBS gives you the space, and storytelling power to scale it.
Join the movement at DIBS 2026 — and turn bold ideas into global impact.
