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A young father pushes the toddler stroller in the Patagonia jacket through the urban district, a couple in Vaude anoraks and hiking sneakers carry home the leek sticks in cotton bags, on the left a jogger in a total trail running look overtakes me - and I see for myself in my turquoise-gray, weatherproof jacket, it also looks like I'm not just stretching my feet around the block during my home office lunch break, but starting a hearty mountain tour.

The outdoor look has reached the cities, even though the term

functional

fashion has been synonymous with nature-loving German honesty for years.

For a mentality that lets people with Tupperware and high-profile soles get on the regional train at five in the morning to eat hard-boiled eggs and cheese sandwiches on the peaks of the nearest low mountain range at noon.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course - but the exciting, hedonistic life that it was believed took place elsewhere.

And above all, it looked different.

"Ugly Chic" by Ecco with pink utility pants and trekking sandals

Source: ECCO

But the times shape the taste. And right now that means that functional fashion is experiencing an unexpected boom. The longing for a bit of outdoor adventure flair is great, no wonder after a year that many people have mainly spent in their own four walls. And if the possibilities for experiencing nature are barely manageable - who can actually see when and where and under what conditions? - then you get that outdoor feeling into the urban environment. With wind and weatherproof jackets, reflective running shorts, cozy fleece pullovers and backpacks that could transport the equipment for a Mount Everest ascent. (Contrary to all clichés, hiking boots, not high heels, were recently discussed in the editorial conferences of style departments.)

Hiking look for the city: Look by Woolrich

Source: Woolrich

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The trend towards outdoorization of the cloakroom has been buzzing through the fashion cosmos for a long time and has become popular under the fancy term "Gorpcore";

As a backronym for “good old raisins and peanuts”, gorp stands for trail mix - a classic excursion snack.

In the past few seasons, big labels like Balenciaga or Prada have picked up the trend time and again by showing anoraks, down jackets and utility-inspired accessories on the catwalks.

But “Gorpcore” really got off to a flying start in the pandemic.

Everything that is even loosely associated with the concept of “out into nature” has gained considerably in appeal - from the obligatory Corona walk to van vacation to the rediscovery of hiking.

A survey by the outdoor retailer Bergzeit recently showed that hiking has become more popular, especially among younger people;

61 percent of the 26- to 34-year-olds surveyed said they viewed hiking as an escape from everyday Corona, and 70 percent of the 18 to 25-year-olds.

A place of longing for nature: campaign image by Fjällräven

Source: Fjällräven / Lars Scheider

To venture a bold thesis: It also has to do with the aesthetics of current hiking fashion, or the “hiking gear”, to use the somewhat more cosmopolitan term.

In the current advertising campaigns of outdoor brands such as Peak Performance, Ecco or Woolrich, it is easy to see how the checked shirt image is being shelved: First it was the catwalk collections that were inspired by functional fashion, now suddenly hiking jackets are becoming Collections launched in "drops", as it is called based on sneaker culture.

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Fashionable desirability is sneaked into a product segment that until now was primarily subordinate to one purpose: functionality.

Now wind and weather fashion is increasingly paying attention to a certain style compatibility with urban cloakrooms.

The fashion platform lyst.com carries out quarterly analyzes of products that are searched for particularly frequently on the Internet;

A jacket from the mountaineering label Arc'Teryx, a fleece jacket from Patagonia and technical sneakers from Salomon are currently in fifth, seventh and eighth place.

Worldwide!

Unspectacular hiking is suddenly hip - even among young people.

Campaign image from Burton

Source: Burton

Perhaps you have learned the recipe for success from the athleisure idea - designing sports fashion in such a way that it is also worn in everyday life. “In times of exit restrictions, many people have discovered endurance sports for themselves,” says Erman Aykurt, Creative Director at Gore Wear, a brand for cycling and running equipment. “Many want to really work out again, stress reduction and a change of scenery come to the fore. And because social life is largely dormant, self-portrayal in social media has shifted to the area of ​​life that has now become particularly important to people. We want to show that we are making the best of the situation and of course we want to look good. "

So the hiking trousers are getting tighter, the jacket cuts have an avant-garde character, the colors are based more on Kanye West's Yeezy clothing line than on the “Bergdoktor” - and outdoor stores like Globetrotters have long looked like concept stores, in which Lara Croft likes to dress up .

Previous fashion highlight of the Gorpcore hype: At the beginning of 2021, The North Face launched an outdoor collection in cooperation with Gucci, consisting of colorfully printed down vests, retro hiking boots and a bright green, calf-length rain parka.

Equipped for little adventures: running look from Gore

Source: GORE

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If you are wondering what all the fashion victims in their waterproof anoraks and trail running shoes are actually doing in them: probably not that much. “The young generation wants to be progressive in everything they do,” says Andrea Canè, Global Creative Director at Woolrich, known for hooded parkas. “That means they like to wear clothes that protect against wind and weather, but that are also statement pieces. It's a very emotional matter: You want to be ready for everything, of course always for personal development. "

So it's about the look, the feeling that outdoor fashion gives the wearer - namely, to be prepared for a little adventure (honestly, if you are not used to hiking in the mountains, it can quickly become scary on narrow paths!).

And that's what fashion is for: dreaming yourself into a life that sometimes doesn't have to have that much to do with reality.

Yes, even on a banker's blog it is recommended (everything you discover while googling ...) to come to the bank in trail running sneakers.

For everyone who has chosen trail running as their new hobby: running look from The North Face

Source: The North Face

Functional fashion also works as a symbol that you still know a life outside of work. And of course that is so in keeping with the zeitgeist that it almost doesn't matter whether you use the jacket with a 10,000 mm water column for the Dolomite tour or to go to the supermarket. You can also get the mountain hiking atmosphere on your ears via a podcast, a personal recommendation: the “Bergfreundinnen Podcast”, in which three mountain athletes and journalists deal with all questions about life with the mountains. Also good: The YouTube channel of biathlon star Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold - her vlogs make you want to vacation in a mountain hut in Norway as soon as possible.

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