It’s been ten years since Arys started creating products that live in the grey area between functional gear and fashion — in its inception, a relatively novel concept.
“When I started going to trade shows around 2016 we got a lot of compliments, but nobody bought [anything],” says Fritz Sturm, the founder of the label and multi-brand store. “Everybody said ‘this will be the future’ but wholesalers and retailers had no idea how to include us or which category to put us in.”
A decade since launching his brand, and an impressive five ISPO awards later, Sturm has watched what was once a niche interest become almost mainstream. Plus, it got a catchy nickname: Gorpcore.
Salomon XT-6 sneakers, Arc’teryx jackets, convertible cargo pants… trail essentials are suddenly walking the runway and worn by a streetwear-leaning demographic. In a time when the trend cycle is faster than ever, chewing up and spitting out buzzwords (especially those ending in -core) at an alarming rate, gorpcore has remained resolute.
It was a big fashion topic five years ago when Virgil Abloh put Arc’teryx jackets turned frilly dresses down the runway and it remains a much-discussed clothing genre.
Clearly, gorpcore isn’t a flash-in-a-pan, internet-fueled moment, it’s a real movement spurred along by very real shared experiences (i.e. widespread interest in going outside after COVID-19 lockdowns). However, that doesn’t mean it is immune to change.
“We are now, in my opinion, in a totally different place to where we were two years ago,” says Luca Quattrone, who started the Instagram platform (di)rilievo two years ago, reacting to the buzz around outdoor gear as interested in aesthetics as it is in function.
“At the beginning, (di)rilievo was about 70% sneakers and during 2024, we started feeling that this world is changing, we [started] paying more attention to apparel and equipment [as well as] winter sports, water sports, and running,” he says, later adding: “One year ago it was Arc’teryx and Salomon, it was all about these 2 brands. Right now, we’re seeing more interest in other, smaller brands.”
The (di)rilievo audience’s preferences are not an indicator of wider consumer movements — this year, Arc’teryx and Salomon are posting record-breaking revenues, so there’s no sign that the brands are losing mainstream popularity — but it is indicative of what the early gorpcore adopters, those head-to-toe in GORE-TEX before it was available at every good fashion boutique, are thinking.
The word has spread that outdoor gear’s pros extend beyond pure functionality and as the market’s gotten bigger, it’s brought new developments; “[Gorpcore] was a gate opener. And now finally, after years, products are advancing,” says Lars Holzbrecher, a menswear buyer and the founder of the platform Advanced Research. And if you want to see where outdoor gear is advancing, you only have to take a quick skim through the history books — this isn’t its first fashionable rodeo.
Long before TikTokers were wearing GORE-TEX in the shower for views, or YT released Gorpcore’s official anthem, Arc’teryx (2021), the clothing of hikers had a different subcultural relevance.
In the ‘90s, Arc’teryx jackets became a status symbol for graffiti artists while the hip-hop community also built an affection for water-tight outerwear, as seen in early lyrics by 2Pac, Fugees, and Big L. (There’s even a Japanese rapper called Gore-Tex who released the album Water Proof in 1998 — I know, this sounds absurd, but I promise I’m not making it up.) And on the other side of the pond, brands like Berghaus have had subcultural significance since the late ‘80s.
“In London, I would see the kids wearing adidas Climacool, Reebok Dmx, Air Max 95s… and there was a trend, especially in New York where there are harsh weather conditions, to wear Hiroshi Fujiwara‘s Burton line, iDiom,” says Holzbrecher. “All the things we're seeing today, they were already doing in the ‘90s and early 2000s.“
To predict how outdoor gear will evolve and adapt, we can look to the last time it was in the limelight.
On the one side, techy fabrics and ergonomic designs started filtering into the luxury sphere, most notably signaled by Prada launching its nylon-heavy sportswear line in 1998. But other established designers on the fashion week circuit, such as Issey Miyake and Marithé + François Girbaud, were also filling the niche for high-end technical wares.
It’s something that’s happened again, largely under the banner of quiet outdoor, where luxury brands — including the old money favorite Loro Piana — are getting technical. Recently, there’s been MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon, Cecilie Bahnsen x The North Face, Dior x Stone Island… fashion houses are tapping into the market of mixing form with function. And they have been for a while.
But, simultaneously, something more exciting is happening.
As in the late ‘90s and early naughts, a new breed of technical labels is emerging. Back then, it was Vexed Generation, ACRONYM, Final Home, and Sabotage. Today, a fresh batch is rising through the ranks, each putting its own, distinct flair on functional garments. These designers are, in many ways, continuing the ethos of the groundbreaking independent labels that came before.
_J.L-A.L_ is expanding classic formalwear forms and experimenting with environmentally friendly technical fabrics in partnership with Goldwin, while Charlie Constantinou is upcycling and hand-dyeing to create clothing abstract enough to show on the runway and utilitarian enough to survive in harsh climates.
Those two brands are just a microcosm of a bulging new wave of designers also including ROA, Frompointblank, RANRA, Johanna Parv, FFFPOSTALSERVICE, Hiking Patrol, Satisfy — the list goes on.
“In the fashion industry, we often say it's so difficult to enter because there are thousands of brands. But in this niche, there is a big potential for younger brands to really become strong and powerful,” says Sturm, the owner of Arys. “It is, of course, not easy, but I think there's a true gap [in the market] and it’s here for the long term.”
Outdoorsy sportswear companies are also reacting similarly to how they did at the turn of the century. The likes of Airwalk, Burton, and Nike ACG released their most experimental items during these years — we’re talking about inflatable jackets and ones with MP3 players built into them, subjectively innovative and downright weird stuff.
Basically, outdoor gear is getting weird again. Salomon’s new shoes look like a science experiment gone right and Oakley is back to its cutting-edge best (it has even started creating great sneakers again!).
Compared to the naughts, when many forward-thinking functional brands didn’t stand the test of time (though they’re now being rediscovered and resold), Sturm feels the market for outdoor clothing has expanded further, helped by increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and a heightened focus on health and wellbeing.
What began with a few people looking at shell jackets and trail sneakers a little differently has pushed an industry-wide shift, inspiring young designers to bring practical design solutions to fashion while established brands are once again willing to push the boundaries of weird and wonderful functional clothing.
Now we wait and see what uber-utilitarian places the latest mutation of gorpcore takes us.
