In 2018 a lowly design intern was challenged to develop a new product each day for 30-days. One man armed only with delusion and a sewing machine took to the web and shared his marathon intention with strangers... only to be met with explosive results.

He used popular forums, Reddit and Superfuture, as well as Instagram to post daily results on. The emergence of his handle "The Techwear Intern," on these platforms was largely met with skepticism, and in some cases written off as something that would fade out within the first few days.

Persistence and grit prevailed. You can take a look at some of the past posts here.

The fashion industry is secretive, burdened with legacy and barriers. It is a world where honest information is hard to come by; so the Techwear Intern decided to champion the brands within the industry looking for change, pushing new technology, and seeking to expand their market with true value added innovations.

The first 30-day challenge was a unanimous success. The community following the challenge offered unresounding support, asking a brand to be developed from the ideas posed. What was more eye opening was that the industry took note, and job offers came pouring in. Thereafter, the idea of INTERN Techwear Corp was forged.

INTERN exists and has established itself as a place of inspiration for upcoming makers, brands and fellow industry professionals. Working as somewhat of a nonconformist design consultancy, their method is to uncover the technologies, manufacturing processes and construction techniques that are best-in-class, and new-to-market.

The goal of INTERN is to not only apply and scale these methods for their customers, but also allow for open collaboration with the industry as a whole.

They have spent the past few years travelling the globe, forging relationships with fabric mills, suppliers and factories, to try and open up access for you, the next generation of designers. However, the supply chain within the apparel industry is rather archaic in how it conducts business. Mills weren't immediately on board with a plan to open its vault of secrets to the individual, maker or student. Generally, they just wanted a fabric order of a few thousand yards or more.

That doesn't mean that there wasn't any success to be had. There is a new methodology starting to trickle into the supply chain; one with a bit more optimism that the times are changing and that disruptive thinking isn't the worst thing to happen to fashion.

What INTERN concluded was that the only true way to see change was to enact it yourself. To get others on board, INTERN decided to endure the suffer fest again. A 30 Day Challenge, 2.0! What was once just one man has now become a small team, an amorphous design studio and a host of partners, collaborators and supporters.

With the state of the World today, it made sense for INTERN to bring a little bit of joy back to your newsfeeds; and to create a forum for design, discourse and education.

Throughout the first two weeks of April, INTERN races to finish its final preparations for another marathon of design, fabrication and community engagement.

Thereafter, at some (still secretive) point this month, the official challenge will begin, where the team will be developing a new product from scratch. Taking input and requests from the community, they will reveal the entire process of creating highly technical garments and accessories, from idea to physical product sample.

They will share insights into the technologies that make up the products people love, explaining materials, constructions, and design reasoning. Shattering perceptions and tearing down barriers of entry through education. An uninhibited engagement opportunity for consumers, makers, designers, enthusiasts and fellow industry pros to share in open discussion.

The challenge acts as a platform for consumers to engage directly with the industry, building understanding and connection. Join INTERN – and challenge them directly – as they create in hours, products that typically occupy teams of experts for months.

INTERN will also be giving us access to reshare some of the content created throughout the month in their perspective.

Follow along on Instagram via @Techwear.Intern, on Reddit at r/streetwear, or check back in with us throughout April and May.

Article and photo credits: INTERN Techwear Corp.