Summary
Known for their creative use of stitching and interesting designs, Aesthetic has been around for quite a while. They recently opened up shop in the USA and they sent over one of their new Alpha gis for us to test. How did it stack up to other gis on the market? Check it out…
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Disclosures
This Gi was submitted to me free of charge (by way of gireviews.net) for review. I have never done any work with or for Aesthetic.
Introduction
I remember a few years back seeing Aesthetic pop up on BJJhq, I remember seeing their stuff and thinking “Wow that looks cool, I wonder how the fit and quality is?” So when I heard that Aesthetic was sending over a gi for review, I was pretty excited.
The gi arrived in a sort of a sublimated “plaid” style bag, I normally don’t really care about gi bags, but this one was pretty dope. Upon receiving the gi I noted that it had a premium feel to it. I wore the gi as part of my regular rotation for 6 months to give it a real shakedown and make sure that I tested it for quality.
Fit
My favored gi size is A2L and Aesthetic offers an A2L. I found that this A2L fit me perfectly. One of the best fitting gis I’ve worn. I found that it was tight in all the right places to give me a tactical advantage while never restricting movement, and I found that the fit of the pants was one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of wearing.
A: 5.75
B: 29.25
C: 30.5
D: 22.5
E: 20.5
F: 11.5
G: 7.75
H: 37.5
Design
Aesthetic put a WHOLE lot of “bling” into the design of this gi while keeping it inexplicably understated and simple. The gi has tons of details to it that make it the premium product that it is.
The top is a nice 450 GSM pearl weave while the pants are nice supple twill. The gi is blue with red and white detailing
The gi has tons of detailing including sublimated panels and detailing featuring the same “plaid” style print as the bag, and there Aesthetic did something really interesting with the paisley style seam tape: they covered a lot of it in twill creating a double effect.
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There are also some embroidered hits on the gi.
Jacket
I’ll start with the basics: the jacket is made of a 450 GSM pearl weave that held up really nicely over the course of the review. It has a thick twill covered lapel and the venting is red.
Perhaps the most noticeable detail on the gi is a white stitch that runs top to bottom giving the gi an interesting accent, this sort of thing seems to be Aesthetic’s concept to differentiate themselves from other companies.
As for embroideries: the gi has the company name (Aesthetic) on both shoulders in a red and white stitch.
As similar but much smaller embroidery is right below the lapel between the shoulders as well as the bottom of the left skirt.
There is also a red and white star on the right side right around the middle of the ribcage.
Inside of the gi is a party in and of itself: the yoke panel and the venting both have the awesome looking sublimated plaid lycra material. The yoke panel has a large rectangular piece of the paisley seam tape material with the gi’s size and branding and the inside of the lapel has a tag made of the same material with Aesthetic written on it. All writing on these tags is in silver stitch.
There is also a print on the inside of the left skirt that says “No Guts No Glory No Legend No Story.” This print is as clear and in tact now after 6 months of wear as it was on day 1.
The bottom of the skirt has the paisley seam tape, and the cuffs have the same seam tape but under two pieces of twill seam tape and exposed just a bit to give that bit of a visual hit.
I told you, for such an understated gi it has a LOT of bling!
Interesting read: THE AURORA BY AESTHETIC
Trousers
Though not as complex or intricate as the top, the pants of this gi were pretty awesome too.
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A heavy twill material that didn’t wear much over 6 months, Aesthetic made great choices in their fabrics. They utilized a double covered full length knee pad and a pearl weave crotch gusset (one of MY favorite features).
The rope loops and trim are red twill while the tied and melted rope is an awesome red and white combo. Makes the rope pop beautifully. The inner detailing of the rope vents is the same sublimated plaid lycra.
The pants have fewer and more understated embroidery: the left leg has the Aesthetic logo in white and the right leg has the same little red and white star as the jacket making the design consistent through and through.
The taping at the cuff of the pants is the same double material as the opening of the cuffs on the jacket, with that awesome paisley print peaking out at you from between two swaths of twill.
My favorite thing about the pants was their fit. The closest thing I’ve seen were Hyperfly’s premium pants but I personally liked these a bit better.
Rolling Performance
This gi was one of the best performing gis I’ve ever worn. My favorite thing about it was the fit. It fit perfectly.
Also, the gis fabric was super comfortable, and the crotch gusset was a nice addition. I’m not sure why Aesthetic put that double fabric in the cuffs but it made them feel stiffer and harder for training partners to grab so I really liked that too. I’d compete in this gi in a heartbeat.
Conclusion
Aesthetic’s designs are in my opinion some of the most innovative and unusual on the market. Where a lot of brands go with a sort of “me too” kind of look, Aesthetic found ways to set themselves apart. For more information about this product offering head over to www.fightaesthetic.com
