What “made to block the sun” means at Rezzella

One claim, on purpose

Clothing can carry many promises about the sun. We make one: every Rezzella piece is made to block the sun. We chose those words because they describe what we do, how we choose the fabric, cut the piece and finish it, without claiming a result that a laboratory has not yet published.

Our fabric goes to ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, for testing to AS/NZS 4399 before the first run. The full report goes on the shirt test page. It will name the laboratory, the standard and the date. Until then you will not find a rating on any Rezzella page or label.

It starts with the fabric

The structure of a fabric does most of the work. ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, explains that the tighter a fabric is made, the less space there is between its yarns for ultraviolet to pass through, and that thicker fabric generally stops more. So we look first for a tight knit or weave, and we avoid open mesh wherever the sun lands on the body.

Colour comes next. Darker colours and deeper dyes usually absorb more ultraviolet than pale ones, but a tight white fabric can still stop more than a loose dark one. We look at that in more detail in do darker colours block more sun.

Then the cut and the cover

A fabric can only cover the skin it sits on, which is why the Australian and New Zealand standard looks at body coverage as well as fabric. Some of our pieces are cut to cover more. The Sun Hoodie has a deep hood that covers the neck and ears, and thumbholes that keep the cuffs over the backs of the hands. The Alpine Quarter Zip has a stand collar that covers the neck.

Other pieces are cut to look exactly like what you already own. The Sun Tee is a tee, and the Knit Polo is a polo. Covering up only works if a piece gets worn, so we design every one to be reached for often, not saved for one day a year.

Fit matters as much as fabric

ARPANSA notes that stretching a knitted fabric opens the spaces in it. That is one reason our cuts are easy rather than tight: the men’s Sun Tee is boxy with a dropped shoulder, and the women’s is slightly fitted rather than snug. The size guide lists every measurement in centimetres, so you can choose a fit that sits close without pulling.

A UV card in every order

We would rather show you than tell you. Every order comes with a UV card, so you can hold it in the sun, slip it under one layer of your piece, and see the difference for yourself. How to do the shirt test at home explains how to read the result, and what a card cannot tell you.

A card is not a laboratory, and we never present it as one. It is a simple way to check, with your own eyes, the one thing we say about our clothing.

What we will publish

For every piece, we will publish the fabric it is made from and the laboratory report for that fabric. Clothing that claims to cover you from the sun should be able to show its working, and ours will, in full, on this site.

Riviera is our lifestyle and casual line, and Adventure is our outdoor and sport line. Both carry the same claim and the same card. You can see every piece in Rezzella Riviera and Rezzella Adventure, and the rest of how we work in why we make every piece to order.