Backcountry goes high class
Outdoor adventurers shifting focus from function to fashion
There are semi-plausible scenarios, reminiscent of the J. Peterman catalogue, where outdoor adventure should meet fashion.
Rappelling down a mountainside, you glance past a mountain goat to find an attractive, equally sure-footed outdoorsy type sharing the cliffside. Then after a vigorous weeklong jaunt in mountainous terrain, you’re overwhelmed by a sudden craving for Bolognese and Sangiovese.
In past decades, stark fashion options would dictate your next steps. Either you packed extra clothes for that social detour, or you wore your Velcro pockets and reflective trim out for Italian.
Functionality is still lord and master of dressing for the outdoors. It’s also still the most obvious, guiding philosophy at MEC. But in Craig Binch’s 20 years with the retailer, the clothing section has blossomed to fill roughly a third of the store.
“I think we used to say, when we’re going into the backcountry, ‘It’s all about function, who cares about how it looks,’” says Binch, manager of MEC’s Edmonton location. “Well, that doesn’t really apply (anymore). People want to look good. That’s why we have five different colours of that jacket, so you can find the one that’s most flattering.”
MEC sells lines with space-aged names, such as Aquanator, and semi-mythical monikers that include Gardena or Terrena. For the more literal-minded, there are Walkabout trousers and Growler shirts. Placards list the specs, detailing a garment’s abilities to wick moisture, block UV rays, withstand friction and travel well.
Those factors are certainly important in the backcountry, Binch points out, but they matter little if the clothes make you feel like a tool. MEC’s major rebranding roughly three years ago meant the store now carries more everyday “lifestyle” clothes — yoga and cycling — as well as brighter colours and snazzier cuts. Racks of earth-toned fleece coats have been all but phased out, replaced by brighter, better and more flat- tering garments.
And there’s more choice in their backcountry gear. Backcountry has become more fashionable, to the point that conversations about tech gear are the stuff of Reddit fashion forums. There’s also been a little flex on the urban side. Yoga gear occasionally flirts with business casual, but still has time for wilderness flings, even if it means more wear and tear on those stretchy pants.
There are many reasons for the stylistic turn. It doesn’t hurt that clothing has a higher profit margin, Binch says, but synthetic fabric — so-called tech wear — continues to improve. Online competitions foster innovation, as in the example of a proposal for new hiking chinos generating a mint on Kickstarter for New York’s Bluff Works. Clothiers such as Outdoor Research and Patagonia have hit 30th and 40th anniversaries, so even retro is getting a nod.
Binch also points to another factor: the proliferation of technology of a non-textile type.
“How many people now are carrying a camera of some sort into the backcountry? A lot of people are going to be on a GoPro and that kind of thing,” Binch notes. “They want to look good when they’re in that stuff.”