Introducing the second ‘No Passengers’ film, with Vollebak

No Passengers is a joint endeavour from Soho House and Porsche that highlights creative visionaries who are pushing culture forward. Alongside events, talks, workshops and installations to mark major art moments, such as Berlin Art Week and Paris+, films are an integral part of the collaboration. For the second instalment in our docu-shorts series, we learn more about the clothing pioneers behind boundary-breaking label, Vollebak: twin brothers Steve and Nick Tidball.

Founded in 2015, the idea for Vollebak first came to the British entrepreneurs while they were undertaking an arduous run in the Namib desert, with a view to producing future-proof clothing capable of withstanding fire, flood and cataclysmic world events (enter, the brand’s patented Apocalypse Jacket). The pair’s real life-application approach is entirely unique, resulting in garments that, in their words, are ‘designed for an extreme future’.

Filmed at Vollebak’s London headquarters and in the frigid wilds of Northern Sweden, the film charts Swedish ultra-runner Jakob Åberg as he puts the brand’s Indestructible Puffer – which is stitched from the strongest fibre ever created; 15 times stronger than steel – to the test after being dropped in snow-dusted Swedish Lapland by an all-electric Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. 

Enduring temperatures as low as -22°C (and being held inches away from Åberg’s campfire), the jacket sees the runner safely to central Stockholm, where he ends the film enjoying a much-deserved cocktail at the city’s freshly opened Soho House.

‘From a technical perspective these sorts of conditions presented a whole list of challenges,’ says Soho House’s Head of Film and Motion, Danny Chan, about creating this episode of No Passengers. ‘Would the batteries and cameras operate at -22°C? With only three hours of daylight, what are the low-light capabilities of the sensor? Is the camera package small and light enough to lug around mountains and across rivers in a remote part of the world that is usually only visited by people hunting the Northern Lights?’ In the event, he notes, ‘We met all these challenges and more – and created a beautiful film in the process.’ 

Furthering their partnership, in early 2023 Soho House and Porsche will present the inaugural Soho Summit, a festival of ideas gathering creative minds from the worlds of design, art, sustainability and technology. Set within the sprawling English countryside, Soho Farmhouse will host the one-day event, which will feature talks, panel discussions, immersive experiences, interactive workshops and culinary experiences. We will announce our first headliners early next year, with tickets going on sale to members in February 2023. 

Scroll up to watch our newest instalment of No Passengers, featuring Vollebak.