Like many great inventions, the creation of Gore-Tex was a happy accident. In 1959 Wilbert. L Gore left his job at DuPont to pursue his research into the potential of the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or what is more commonly known as teflon. He launched W.L. Gore & Associates alongside his wife Genevieve in 1959. The company began producing Teflon insulated cables as their main business. Their son, Bob Gore, was a chemist and wanted to find a way to save the family business money by stretching out the teflon and adding air.

Bob Gore's early attempts to heat and stretch rods of PTFE had been largely unsuccessful. No matter how carefully he tried to stretch the material it would snap in the process. One evening in 1969 he heated up the polymer and tried a different approach. He discovered that when he pulled the material quickly it stretched and stretched. The solid PTFE unexpectedly stretched about 800 percent, forming a microporous structure that was about 70 percent air. The pores in between its strands turned out to be small enough to keep water out, but large enough to let vapor through. This is what allows Gore-Tex to keep a person dry and vent their body's own moisture. Bob Gore applied for several patents for what would become Gore-Tex—products made with Gore’s signature updated polymer, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene or ePTFE for short.

After the discovery of ePFTE, Gore-Tex quickly achieved real-world application in a way that we are most familiar with today. It was in 1976 when Gore received the first commercial order for Gore-Tex. A small Seattle based company named Early Winters decided to give the polymer a try. The company released the first tent and jacket ever made with Gore-Tex. The gear was a hit with outdoor enthusiasts as it kept out the rain while remaining both breathable and durable. For those used to soggy sleeping and sweaty rain gear, Gore-Tex was a huge upgrade. The product launches were a game changer for Early Winters as the company sold thousands of units in just a few weeks. The company ended up buying most of the 10,000 yards of fabric that Gore produced that year.

Outdoors sporting magazine Field & Stream wrote in 1977: "It’s as though the centuries-long search for a waterproof-yet-breathable lightweight fabric had ended in complete success."

While early adopters of Gore-Tex had found that the fabric was miles ahead of previous rainwear options, it was still far from perfect. The first generation of Gore-Tex consumers liked the product but some complained that the fabric was leaking. This lead to a huge recall where W.L. Gore & Associates took back millions of dollars worth of products at its own expense. Bob Gore, the inventor of the Gore-Tex membrane said that he refused to sell a product if it didn’t fully perform as expected.

This setback early in the brand’s existence helped drive the creation of second-generation Gore-Tex membranes and a sealing product that would eventually give way to taped seams and countless other small improvements.

This also lead to the creation of detailed guides and testing procedures that apparel manufacturers big and small would need to follow to create garments up to the company’s standards. With these new quality assurances in place, the “Guaranteed to Keep You Dry” promise was created in 1989. With the slogan came a lifetime product warranty that extended to all products made using Gore-Tex.

The company policy stated that “If you are not completely satisfied with the waterproofness, windproofness or breathability of your product, then we will repair it, replace it, or refund your purchase price.” While many companies had quality assurances for their own products, it was unheard of that a supplier would extend its coverage to all finished products using its fabric.

The first generation of Gore-Tex lacked sealed seams. Sealed seams provide a jacket with complete weatherproofing and prevent it from leaking. If you look inside most modern waterproof jackets you will see strips of tape which are used to seal any gaps that have been created around the stitching. However the trade off is that the more taping used, the less breathable the garment becomes. Gore seam-sealing machines and tape were first introduced in 1979.

All new Gore-Tex shell fabrics are treated with an ultra-thin treatment called DWR, a durable water repellent polymer that is applied to the outermost fabric layer. DWR penetrates the fibers and lowers the surface tension of the fabric, causing water to bead up and roll off this outer layer of fabric, instead of being absorbed. While DWR does wear down over time, it can easily be easily re-applied with sprays or wash-in solutions.

Another major upgrade to Gore-Tex came in the form of multiple layer constructions. In two layer construction the membrane is bonded to the outer fabric only. This means that the lining inside is separate and can move freely. The overall effect improves comfort and versatility and allows the membrane to be used with insulation. With three layer construction, the membrane is bonded to both the face fabric and the inner lining. The advantage of this is increased durability—as the layers can't move against each other—which gives the fabric a stiffer feel.

Gore has also diversified their offering and created other technologies in the garment space apart from Gore-Tex. One of the best known is Windstopper which was introduced in 1991. The totally windproof—yet breathable—membrane blocks the wind and allows vapor to escape. This combination of protection and breathability minimizes the windchill while reducing the risk of overheating while active.

Another product technology is called Paclite, introduced to the public in 1998. In products made with Paclite, a Gore-Tex membrane is bonded to an outer shell material, then covered by a protective layer made of an oil repellent substance and carbon. This results in an extremely lightweight and, as the name suggests, packable garment.

While snowboarders, hikers and outdoor sports enthusiasts are all very familiar with the benefits of Gore-Tex, it also attracted attention from some unexpected sources. When NASA launched its first shuttle mission, Columbia in 1981, the astronauts wore spacesuits featuring woven Gore-Tex in the outermost layer. This technique continues to be used in NASA’s suits today.

As Gore-Tex technology improved the U.S military took notice as well. The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) was first designed in the 1980s for soldiers faced with incredibly cold environments for extended periods of time. The ECWCS system consists of multiple layer options that can be worn in combination to provide adequate protection for individuals in temperatures ranging from +40F to -60F. Over the years the ECWCS system has gone through multiple improvements with technology advancement and material evolution.

The original version of the system consisted of three layers: a synthetic base layer, an insulated or wind-resistant mid-layer and an outwear layer that was most often made from Gore-Tex. In total, this system consisted of 23 individual garments including; gloves, base layers, trousers, parkas, socks and liners. Since the first system was released, it has since been further improved upon. The release of Generation III consists of seven independent layers each of which can be worn as part of a system or on their own.

The technology behind Gore-Tex is now four decades old, but designers are still finding innovative ways to use the fabric. While outdoor-centric companies like The North Face and Patagonia are the biggest proponents of the material, Gore-Tex still maintains close working relationships with small independent labels.

Acronym collaborated with Gore-Tex on an experimental capsule collection in the spring of 2017. The products featured a new laminate fabric technology which was used in tandem with the Gore-Tex membrane. The Acronym J37-PB Hooded Jacket and the J62-PB Trench Coat were light, soft and quiet garments that did not sacrifice the water resistance that Gore-Tex is known for—not to mention a supple leather-like appearance and emphasized flexibility and comfort. Gore-Tex Product Specialist Joachim Kuhnke notes, “This new product technology is referred to within Gore as “Lieblingsteil” (German for “favorite piece”). The styles were sold in small quantities in only a few stores globally and released in May 2017.

For a project called Six Stories of Gore-Tex, two volumes of books have been released detailing the experiences that niche designers have gone through collaborating with Gore-Tex. The first volume was launched in Japan in 2014 and provided interviews with Hiroki Nakamura of Visvim, Yosuke Aizawa of White Mountaineering, Takayuki Fujii of Nonnative, Masaaki Homma of Mastermind Japan, Tetsuo Kitahara of Backbone, and Eiichiro Homma from Nanamica.

One of the most interesting perspectives in the book came by way of Visvim designer Hiroki Nakamura. Gore-Tex appealed to Hiroki because of its status as a timeless material which would preserve its performance over the long term. Nakamura wanted to bridge the old and the new and decided to use traditional natural dyes in tandem with Gore-Tex. A snippet from the book published on Hypebeast explains how Nakamura blended traditional techniques with Gore’s technology.

“What I’m about is combining cutting-edge technology with old technology to create things that will outlive us. What I wanted to do this time was to dye Gore-Tex products with natural indigo. That was why I got in touch with an indigo dye house dating from the Edo period. Many craftspeople who’ve maintained their time-tested methods still survive in Germany, France and Italy, and that’s certainly true of Japan too. My ideal is to fuse their craft skills with our cutting-edge manufacturing technology to create interesting and long-lasting products.

The Six Stories of Gore-Tex project continued in 2017. Six Stories of Gore-Tex Products Vol. 2 was edited by the late Gary Warnett and featured conversations with New Balance, Norse Projects, Virgil Abloh, Errolson Hugh, Andrew Bunney and adidas Originals' Senior Design Director Erman Aykurt. The book was first presented on August 9, 2017 to coincide with Copenhagen Fashion Week alongside Norse Projects Gore-Tex jackets and the brand’s collaboration with adidas.

The breakthrough discovery of Gore-Tex in 1969 lead to a revolution in rainwear. At first Gore-Tex appealed to campers and hikers but it’s sheer usefulness has made it a staple for the general population. The market is now filled with Gore-Tex options that can fit in with any personal style. Improvements to the core technology in subsequent decades have cemented the position of Gore-Tex as the market leader—not just for items headed for extreme conditions—but for everyday items that are going to work as hard as their price tags would suggest. A quote from The North Face President Steve Rendle states “Gore-Tex is the gold standard for comfort and protection in the world’s most challenging environments”. Given the track record of Gore-Tex to date there is little reason to think that will change anytime soon.