Proton VPN and Aries Unite Comfort and Connectivity in World-First VPN Blanket

Proton VPN, the privacy-focused VPN service, has joined forces with cult streetwear label Aries, to unveil one of this season’s most surprising collaborations: the VPN Blanket.

The world-first design fuses digital freedom with physical comfort, embedding NFC technology directly into the blanket’s woven tag. A simple tap on the tag will instantly open a URL that will give users access to a free month of Proton VPN, so they can enjoy accessing content from more than 120 countries. Whether they’re bingeing their favourite TV shows, or catching up on the latest game from their favourite sports team, a VPN protects users’ privacy and gives them access to their favourite content from all over the world, no matter where they are.

Created by Uncommon Creative Studio, and designed with university students and expats in mind, the collaboration celebrates the comfort of home in a connected world. It comes as research from Proton VPN found that more than 8 in 10 (88%) of expats surveyed by Proton VPN say that accessing content from home reduces their feelings of isolation - whilst 82% of foreign students living in the UK report feeling homesick.

The blanket’s striking design was led by Aries founder and creative director, Sofia Prantera, who is herself an expat. Originally hailing from Italy, Sofia drew inspiration from wanting to reconnect with her birth culture, as a way of soothing her profound sense of displacement.

The VPN blanket launch was supported by OOH and social assets, which went live for six weeks in London, just as the clocks went back, targeting various London diaspora communities with relevant creative that nodded to missing home. It included contextual DOOH for international students in university halls, and large OOH high impact sites in areas that have a higher proportion of diaspora communities, including Indian, LATAM, American, Australian, French, Italian and Polish among others.

Students were invited to the Aries flagship store on Saturday the 6th to collect their exclusive VPN blanket for free, while stocks lasted.

Julie Matheney, ECD at Uncommon Creative Studio, commented, “A VPN blanket shouldn’t exist — which is exactly why we made it. With Proton VPN and Aries, we turned an invisible piece of tech into something you can touch, feel and actually love. It’s comfort, culture and connection wrapped into one unexpected idea.”

Morgane Leonardi, VPN expert at Proton, added, “From the moment we first saw this concept, we knew it was something special – a brilliant way to bring Proton VPN into an entirely new space. Teaming up with Aries lets us bring together two seemingly opposite worlds, cutting‑edge security and everyday comfort. The Proton VPN Blanket turns a simple, cozy moment into instant and unrestricted access to TV shows, movies and sports that keep people feeling at home.”

Shop the VPN blanket now, while stocks last, at www.ariesarise.com, priced at £195.