The Evolution of Gorp

What’s next for fashion’s favorite crunchy style?

At approximately 450 million years old, moss is widely considered to be the first plant on Earth. It’s found in all nonmarine ecosystems and has continued to survive and evolve for millenia despite numerous challenges, from mass extinction events to climate change. Though the fashion trend cycle is now an internet-driven phenomenon, it can often be just as harsh an ecosystem as the great outdoors. The true test of a style is how it endures over time, and more importantly, if it’s able to evolve.

Enter gorpcore—or simply gorp—a term coined by New York Magazine’s in 2017 to describe a crowd of style-minded city folks embracing general-release outdoor performance gear from brands like Patagonia, Montbell, and Arc’teryx. Seven years later, we’ve seen the world discover the perks (and pitfalls) of GORE-TEX jackets and fleece zip-ups. Even high-fashion brands like Off-White, Jil Sander, Jacquemus, and Loewe have taken a stab at the granola-inspired aesthetic.Similar to “influencer,” the “gorp” label can feel played out; imprecise; unhelpful. The convenience of the catch-all term often elides the creativity and innovation happening in the space, and instead lumps a bunch of brands together just because they share an element of technicality in their designs. The trend evolved from normcore-adjacent to hyper performance-focused and is now riding its very own endearing weirdo wave. How are contemporary, nature-minded designers pushing the boundaries of this style, and devising compelling new cases for the uniform of the future in the process?

Biomimicry

We’ve spoken about the very uncanny, appealing, and inherently derivative nature of AI art. Elmo Mistiaen is a Brussels-based AI artist focused specifically on “biomorphic outdoor fashion” concepts, from soft squid balaclavas depicting heads enveloped in Lovecraftesque tentacles to butterfly-themed knitwear designs that look straight out of a high-budget science fiction film. Biomimicry focuses on applying nature-led solutions to human problems, and when it comes to fashion that you can actually see and touch, nature-inspired textile innovations are finally getting more attention. Lauded menswear designer Massimo Osti—founder of C.P. Company and Stone Island—laid the groundwork with his fabric innovations, from the thermosensitive Stone Island Ice Jacket to stone-washing fabric manipulation techniques that remain relevant today.The fractal geometry of nature depicted on ancient artifacts inspired London-based LVMH prize nominee Charlie Constantinou, who often references spiral shapes and natural colors in his designs. “I consider artifacts as a part of nature, they’ve been exposed to thousands of years of life,” he says. “I much prefer making my own colors, and use natural dyes with fabrics when I can. I’ve looked into ways of dying with bacteria which could be really interesting. You have to keep trying until you find the right solution.” Self-described Eco Mindfulness label EDEN Power Corp is looking to nature for new textiles, developing a wearable mushroom hat made of amadou, a spongy material derived from fungi that grow on the bark of coniferous and angiosperm trees, as part of its SS22 collection. “The first thing we did with EDEN was to remove as much plastic and synthetic material as possible,” says co-founder Isaac Larose. “We use as much hemp as we can in our garments. I have a lot of ink cap mushrooms in my fridge, too. We still need to explore their ink-like property for graphics. I think Jason White from Silent Labs is doing really interesting stuff, and we’re also working on a bacterial and algae-related project.”

Anthropomorphic Dressing

Today, there are more options than the straightforward gorp uniform of the past. The GORE-TEX shell, cargo pant, and hiking boot is giving way to a higher-concept, more literal approach. Why settle for simply dressing like you hang out in the forest when you can the forest? Not everyone is going to be down to bring an AI idea to life and go full amphibian like Collina Strada, but wearing realistic nature textures ghillie suit style is totally possible today with extremely cool bags that look like lichen by Charlie Constantinou and seaweed by Copenhagen-based Solitude Studios. It’s fun to see proportions and layering changing, too. Baggy mountaineering-inspired pants and extra large bags conjur amorphous, shape-shifting sea creatures. At Kiko Kostadinov, coats with tattered knits emerging from the seams like Spanish moss are perfect for serious forest-bathers. Complete the look with a pair of sporty Oakley sunglasses and transform into a fly.

Everyone Loves Kiko

London-based Bulgarian designer Kiko Kostadinov founded his namesake menswear label in 2016 after graduating with an MA in fashion from Central Saint Martins. In just seven years, the influence of his design language on the world of technical-minded menswear has become undeniable. From his namesake label to his womenswear offshoot designed by Laura and Deanna Fanning to his side projects AFFXWRKS and Mackintosh, Kostadinov has built the type of loyal fanbase that brands spend decades trying to cultivate.

A nod to his techniques—his eye for detail with geometric trouser pleating, zipper seams, and colorblocking, for example—can be seen in collections from established to emerging brands. “He used Hoka shoes for his MA collection show in 2016, introducing them to a new audience and arguably kicking off the technical-gorp trend within footwear, which he’d continue to develop with his ASICS collaborations,” says Calvin Holmes, senior menswear buyer at SSENSE. “His approach to technical fabrics has always been a luxury, fashion-forward one. In his early collections he offered a number of pieces in Loro Piana’s Storm System® fabric on styles seemingly referencing hiking trousers and rain jackets. At the same time he was collaborating with Mackintosh, combining their fabric innovation with his unique design language, further driving the idea that technical-gorp fabrics can exist within a creative fashion space.”Emerging Shanghai-based brand pet-tree-kor—a twist of the word which describes the earthy smell associated with rain—is championing the aforementioned school of Kiko. Its SS23 collection included a gardening-inspired lookbook featuring relaxed-fit pants with geometric pleating details layered underneath shorts and Asics W-DX 2 Arctic Boots. Korean brand FFFPOSTALSERVICE is creating a compelling wardrobe with shades of Kiko-blue in the mix on technical-leaning trousers and matching cropped jackets in its snowy SS23 “Covenant” lookbook. Labels PM Projects and Strongthe are also tapping into this energy with inventive patchwork and unconventional silhouettes.

“In an era heavy on references, Kiko’s daring design techniques always result in leading trends within the industry,” adds SSENSE’s menswear buying manager Mark Pourshafiey. “His innovative work unlocks new ways for designers to approach their respective creative process, adapting their unique worlds around the foundations he continues to build on.”

Fashionable Hobbies

The running club frenzy of the mid-2000s morphed into a hike club frenzy. With most people in pursuit of foraging for photo dump material instead of mushrooms, a hike or moment in nature these days doesn’t often go undocumented. But whether it’s exercise, connection with nature, or capturing content, anything that gets us outside and connecting to nature is deeply beneficial. The fashion industry is known as a high-stress, high-risk profession, so it’s no wonder why young designers and creatives in the field today are turning to nature, perhaps more quietly, as a source of respite and inspiration.“I feel people really needed to escape in nature during the pandemic both for their mental health and simply because of a lack of anything better to do,” said Larose. “But it feels so good to be out there. I see a lot of friends that have started reconnecting with nature and can’t really think about going back to their old lifestyle now. For sure the aesthetic trend will fade, it always does, but the people that have really embraced the lifestyle will stick to it. It just simply makes you appreciate life more.”Gorp sprang from outdoor culture, which at its core is all about actively experiencing—and respecting—the natural world. No matter where you fall on the gorp spectrum today, whether you’re still collecting GORE-TEX Arc’teryx shells or have moved on to rare Kiko cuts, regenerative knitwear from Vitelli, and new hippie aesthetics from brands like Story mfg., always tread lightly and keep Mother Earth in mind.