Luxury fashion’s love affair with outdoor sports is going strong

Gorpcore—a trend you’ve probably participated in, even if you haven’t heard of it—is alive and well among Gen Z and other young shoppers. The term “gorpcore,” coined by the Cut in 2017, refers to wearing apparel traditionally designed for outdoor activities, like hiking or climbing, as streetwear.

And the trend may just be getting started, providing opportunity for both rugged outdoor retailers and luxury designers alike to reach new audiences.

Swasti Sarna, global director of data insights at Pinterest, said searches for “gorpcore” started to rise on the platform last year, but really took off in June, and are now 17 times greater than last year. Top trends in the Shop Tab on Pinterest include “gorpcore fashion,” “cream cargo pants outfit,” “tech fleece,” and “puffer vest outfit,” Sarna told Retail Brew via email.

Now, cargo pants and hiking boots don’t traditionally scream “luxury,” but that hasn’t stopped luxury brands from jumping on the gorpcore bandwagon: from Gucci’s collaboration with The North Face to Fenty’s collections with Puma.

While the intersection of high-end apparel and the rugged world of outdoor sports may be niche, it’s one of the fastest-growing areas within the luxury apparel business, said Mario Ortelli, managing partner at luxury advisory firm Ortelli & Co.

“Basically, you’ve got a macro trend in which the most sophisticated consumers are taking a lot of action in wellness, in sports,” Ortelli told Retail Brew. “There is a premiumization of these segments.”. And the more the trend grows, the more it draws the attention of major players in the luxury space, he added.

No sign of slowing

It’s not just “sophisticated” consumers, to use Ortelli’s words, that are all in on the trend. Luxury outdoor wear is also flying high on the resale market, according to data from Poshmark.

• Sales of secondhand items from luxury brand Moncler on the platform have increased by 21% in the last two years, Chloe Baffert, a merchandising and curation expert at Poshmark, said.
• Loewe sales increased 104%, and Canada Goose sales increased 26% over the same time period.

“Shoppers are gravitating towards styles that are more meaningful investments,” Baffert told Retail Brew via email. “A $2,500 Moncler jacket will do just that and is now in line with a secondhand Chanel 2.55 Classic Flap Bag—they’re wardrobe staples.”

And it’s not just traditional luxury brands that are sticky with resale consumers: Poshmark has seen a 33% increase in sales of The North Face X Gucci items between July and August 2022, Baffert said.

Fashion followers: Luxury gorpcore isn’t just popular with the fashion world; it has also found a target audience in younger generations of outdoor enthusiasts. “About 10% of outdoor participants consider themselves this word: ‘fashionistas,’” Kelly Davis, research director at the Outdoor Industry Association, told Retail Brew. “They tend to be young, they tend to be female, but they’re looking for exactly that crossover trend,” she said.

That younger generation is who the fashion industry should be targeting with outdoor collaborations, Davis added. “For the rest of participants in outdoor…performance, quality, and value are traits that they value above style. That doesn’t mean there’s not a target. It’s just small.”

• For traditionally outdoor brands, collaborations with luxury names are a way to increase brand awareness among new consumers, Davis said.
• “If you’re trying to infuse your brand…with a more stylish perception, that’s one way to do it,” she said.—MA