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We were fascinated by the recent question posted by Charles Ross on LinkedIn: “As long as I have been teaching, I have been asked questions about being more responsible around textiles, but recently the subject of #GorpCore has come onto the agenda. Here I try to see whether this is just #EmperorsNewClothes, a new subset from the brands, or the new interpretation of #AthLeisure. My views are still being created so will happily listen to others”. And so the comments started to flow. Before we delve into what people think, first let’s define GorpCore and AthLeisure.
GorpCore
G O R P is an acronym referring to the popular trail mix of Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts, a snack often found in the backpacks of North American campers and hikers (and my husband’s). The ‘Core’ part of the phrase, says Kelly Burton of The ESG Shop, is attributed to ‘NormCore’ a trend that first appeared in 2008 and refers to unpretentious, unisex, average looking fashion clothing like sweatshirts, t-shirts and trainers. Gorpcore was first introduced in 2017.
AthLeisure
AthLeisure on the other hand has been around slightly longer and really came into its own during the mid-2010s. The expression refers to a genre of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear. Items such as tracksuits, sport jackets, hoodies, leggings and Birkenstocks.
Are these trends really new though?
“Gorpcore as a concept is nothing new” says Andrew Crory of SD Kells “its roots go back to the mid-eighties (if not before) and the football terraces of England and Italy. Sprayway Torridons and Berghaus Mera Peaks led the way, Barbour, Henri Lloyd and, more recently, TNF. The streets of Liverpool and Manchester have been a showcase for outdoor gear as fashion for decades”. Absolutely says Nadeem Perera, founder of the young, thriving outdoor community FlockTogether, “a lot of the pop culture around in the wider world comes from places like here in East London. Like just down to the shoes that are trending, the way people wear clothes, that all comes from the street”.
So, what got GorpCore going …
Personally I’ve been itching for outdoor companies to start making clothing that I feel stylish and comfortable in. Since the early 2000s actually. Clothing that offers superior protection in the outdoors but has a nod to the zeitgeist. Apparently, all I needed was a pandemic to make it happen. Yes, says Hannah da Silva, founder of GorpGirls “The pandemic was a very big kickstart into the outdoor craze. With limited things to do during lockdown, getting outside for a hike or taking up an outdoors sport were the few things youth were able to do during this time. With a growth of more people being hyper online during this time, people were sharing their outdoor pursuits on social media, inspiring others to do the same”. Indeed the famous GorpCore collab struck up between Gucci and The North Face hit shelves in January 2021, almost a year after the World Health Organisaton declared COVID as a global health emergency (March 2020).
Thomas Evans, Design Manager, Dr. Martens plc agrees “Lock down has driven a greater interest in the outdoors by more and younger people getting out of the claustrophobia of full time city life into nature. So it’s a moment in time, yes, and the technical aesthetic is likely a trend in its volume” but perhaps not in terms of its impact on outdoor design? “Hopefully it’s an incentive for outdoor brands to become a bit more colour and emotionally design conscious to make some more interesting high performance gear as they realise the potential of outdoor ramblers and extreme sports. Let’s see a bit of nuance in the wearability, colour palettes and material tactility so we can do the stuff we love doing and still dress like ourselves” says Evans.
Will GorpCore influence the fashion industry?
Nichole De Carle, Owner and Board member at London Contour Experts thinks it might, “Gorpcore could significantly influence the fashion industry by driving a shift towards more functional, durable, and outdoor-inspired clothing. This trend emphasises sustainability and practicality, potentially leading to innovations in materials and design that prioritise environmental consciousness and versatility in fashion”. Maybe says Charles Ross but those won’t be garments you can rely on in challenging conditions “My qualm with GorpCore is that it is not a garment that you can rely on when conditions get worse" says Ross. "That risk is acceptable on a night out or in a country park, but not when on the hills”.
Can both technical and not-so technical outdoor clothing co-exist, side-by-side?
Perhaps there is a technical market that doesn’t need the protection that the hills and mountains demand and perhaps that market is GorpCore. There are other demand streams like “Car subcultures and the roof top camping” says Stephen Slater from GM Business Growth Hub “these trends have created enthusiastic outdoors accessories people, and that’s headed for main stream GorpCore”. As Evans pointed out on LinkedIn “Do you need a £400 GORE-TEX to walk round a National Trust woodland? No. Do I like being able to buy nice outdoor gear that isn’t in Navy Blue and a fuddy duddy cut? Yes. To me it’s only natural the masses are catching on finally”.
Working with Polartec, an innovator of technical fabric used in the outdoor industry, we are seeing fashion brands and AthLeisure brands using these technical fabrics in their clothing and shouting about it through very visual Polartec branding. Brands like Palace and Moncler spring to mind. This trend for using technical, quality fabrics brings with it two key attributes. First the use of technical fabrics to keep the wearer warm, dry, comfortable and safe. Second, the inherent sustainability that is knitted into these premium fabrics. Both attributes divert attention from unbranded, cheaper alternative fabrics that have little if any sustainable values and limited end-user satisfaction. In other words, are these new trends better for the consumer and the environment too?
To summarise
So, to come back to Charles Ross's question, is GorpCore #EmperorsNewClothes, a new subset from the brands, or the new interpretation of #AthLeisure? I’m not sure I know the answer to that one but what I do know is that the growth of these two genres can only be a good thing. First, they get more people outdoors. It’s perfect Gen Z fodder for engaging social media, instantly luring newbies in (or should we say out). We are loving working with new communities like GorpGirls and FlockTogether. By uniting like-minded people, they make the outdoors more accessible through connecting a community who is learning and experiencing together. It’s fun when you’re growing your wings with kindred spirits. To lean into Ross again “IMHO GorpCore is good for the outdoor ingredients as it is another segment of the population that gets appealed to, more so than the draw of AthLeisure, but it is separate from performance, AthLeisure and Fashion”.
And we’d like to throw another point in here, could it be that every day, go-to clothing will be those all-encompassing outdoor pieces that can cope with a multitude of situations? That tick the AthLeisure/GorpCore/Performance boxes? We, like others in the know, love the Houdini Power Houdi made from Polartec Power Stretch. Research found that the average number of wears per piece is a whopping 1287 over a lifetime of a decade. These are astounding figures. Could the reason be in the diverse, 10-span colour palette? (AthLeisure | GorpCore); Or the fact that it’s warm, stretchy and breathable? (Performance); Maybe its sustainable credentials win favour. (Millennials | Gen Z); Perhaps it’s because it looks cool (while quietly going about its job of keeping its wearer comfortable). Here’s to more clothing that can last the distance, that will continue to be apparel that you want to wear for a multitude of uses, long after that first purchase. Years after in fact. And by a range of users whether they are GorpCore, AthLeisure or Performance driven.