After years of fishing in tropical locales and sweating through his shirts, Chouinard came up with the idea for Patagonia's Puckerware fabric, introduced in 1998, which wicks moisture from the skin.

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They stretch in all directions, and like the synthetic base layers worn by skiers and many other athletes, they are breathable (twice as much as cotton) and wicking to remove moisture from the skin.

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Excessive moisture trapped by the composite skin, for example, created condensation dubbed "rain on the plane" that Boeing countered with wicking material.

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It works by heating the moisture in a person's skin to the point where it feels, according to Kelley Hughes, an official at the directorate who volunteered to act as a guinea pig, like opening a hot oven.

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And because silk does not retain moisture, it won't wick moisture or your anti-aging cream away from your skin.

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