Outdoor apparel is changing. Just one stroll around OR Summer Market last year provided plenty of evidence, and this evolution continued at both OR Winter Market and SIA05. Technical outerwear companies are producing pieces that would have been laughed off the show floor five years ago, but today adding a fashionable flair with embroidery, faux denim, or corduroy is almost a necessity. Brands that used to design their apparel purely on technical merits are now placing a premium on shelf appeal.
These brands are not only tweaking their technical apparel to catch the customers eye, but they are also extending their offerings into the realm of casual lifestyle apparel. While Patagonia launched their casual apparel line years ago, brands like ArcTeryx (see our interview with Tyler Jordan in this issue), White Sierra, Sierra Designs, and TNF through their A5 line are all looking at lifestyle apparel to capture a bigger piece of the pie.
From a vendors perspective, extending their product offering from technical outdoor apparel into lifestyle and casual apparel accomplishes two things: first, it helps sell more products, and second, it gives their brand a year-round presence on the retail floor.
“The bottom line is that our customers who are aging and who are coming up from their teens are looking for something infused with our brand that they can wear during the other 21 hours of the day,” said Mark Herbert, president and CEO of Sierra Designs. “10 years ago the market was saying you must go out and buy a three-ply hard-shell. Today we have much more to offer.”
Retailers feel much the same and are able to leverage these well-known brands to sell more products to their existing customer base. While this is not growing the overall size of the industry from a participation viewpoint, it is capturing more expendable income.
“We continue to do more and more business with the technical apparel brands,” said Nicholas Clark, softgoods buyer for Backcountry.com. “People are so used to going to these brands in the winter, and now someone like TNF with their A5 line, which is a very fashion-forward line for them, is capturing that same business year-round.”
Kim Walker, owner of Outdoor Divas in Boulder, Colo., told BOSS, “A lot of technical apparel companies are getting into more casual wear, but they put that technical element into it. Some brands have really changed – theyre doing a great job of adding color and styling.”
Beaver Theodosakis, president of prAna told BOSS, “While maybe one out of every ten customers will come in and buy a cam or an ice axe, seven or eight in ten will come in and buy apparel, and they will do it more often.”
At the same time, brands that have a limited tradition in technical outerwear like prAna, Horny Toad, and Blurr continue to perform quite well at retail. Most of the executives BOSS spoke with – from both the retail and vendor sides of the industry – felt like the casual lines launched by core technical outerwear brands in recent years have done quite a bit to help the industry.
“Technical brands getting into lifestyle apparel has probably made our job easier if anything,” said Tammy Snow, marketing director of Horny Toad. “I mean, we have been beating that drum for quite a while now. With companies like TNF and their new lifestyle sub-brand, in a way it legitimizes what we have been doing all along.”
It seems that several years ago many retailers were reluctant to bring casual lifestyle apparel on-board, and those who did, were surprised with its solid performance. Today that has changed and the core outdoor brands are drawing more attention to the category, boosting their own sales and opening a window for lifestyle oriented brands. At the same time this is making the environment much more competitive.
“Theres no doubt that its more competitive today. We continue to grow by going deeper into our existing customer base,” prAnas Theodosakis told BOSS. “There is also no doubt that retailers are relying more heavily on apparel. Five years ago you could walk into your typical 3,000 square foot outdoor shop and there would be tents on the floor. Today thats almost unheard of. Its all four-ways.”
This is not to say that outdoor retailers are giving up on technical apparel and hardgoods. These items still serve as an anchor for the core business. “Without that anchor of core outdoor gear, retailers are just competing against clothing stores, and none of us want to do that,” said Theodosakis.
This new focus on fashion in both technical apparel and lifestyle apparel is benefiting retailers as well both on-line and brick-and-mortar. Instead of sending customers down the street for their jeans, outdoor retailers are realizing that they can hold on to their customers for more than just alpine gear.
“When we first started going to outdoor retailers with our line, if it wasnt three-ply Gore-Tex, they didnt want to touch it,” said Tammy Snow of Horny Toad. “But over the last few seasons it has been a different story a complete turnaround. Retailers are realizing that adding a new tent to their product mix will bring a customer into the shop once or twice a year. Adding a new softgoods line will bring them back five or six times.”
Backcountry.coms Nicholas Clark agrees with Snows point. “These companies will always have their place when it comes down to it its all about brand focus,” he said. “As TNF and ArcTeryx get into more casual apparel, it really draws more attention to the category. Ultimately it equals more year round revenue for us and for the vendors.”
Sierra Designs Mark Herbert also feels that this trend will continue to expand. “Will the broadening of the lifestyle trend continue? Yes, absolutely, and I think that the expectations of Gen-Y will drive that.”
Part of the driving force behind the increased popularity of lifestyle apparel is the underlying attention to design. More and more brands are looking outside of the outdoor industry for inspiration, and in some cases validation. This new emphasis on fashion is the result of an evolving consumer with more urban inclination.
“Unlike some of the traditional mythology that has been created by the outdoor industry, these folks need the stimulation that cities offer just as much as they need a month long bouldering trip. The two aspects of their lives are not separate but rather intertwined,” Gus Alexandropoulos, marketing director for Blurr, told BOSS. “They do not view the traditional outdoor look as desirable. They want style – however ephemeral that may be to define – and are spending their money with many non-outdoor oriented retailers…”
“I think weve been filling that niche urban, street-savvy styling with technical features for almost a decade now and for most of that time we were alone,” said Theodosakis. “When Chris Sharma first came to us he said I dont want to look like I am in a Star Trek movie and so we knew there was a strong demand for what we were doing.”
“Weve always looked to other markets for some of our design inspiration, and also to make sure we are on the right track,” Snow told BOSS. “We attend Le Premier Vision in France every year, more to legitimize what we are doing, but also to get some inspiration.”
Looking ahead at what many vendors have in store for retailers at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, it seems incorporating stretch into traditional fabrics like corduroy or denim is on several design tables. Many manufacturers are incorporating organic cotton and Merino wool into their lines, and of those who are already on-board with organic cotton, nearly all are expanding its use. Mens and womens lines will see brighter colors and more “fun” patterns.
Blurr is focusing on retro sport styling, the incorporation of 'stretch' capabilities into traditional nylons and cottons, and expanding its organic cotton program.
Horny Toad is placing a real focus on their fabrics and the feel and drape of the garments they produce by looking at blending natural and man made fabrics. They will expand their light-weight functional knits and mens woven pieces.
Sierra Designs will be offering some pieces incorporating stretch corduroy, more color, and livelier prints. The company is also looking at the womens market and offering every-day athletic apparel.
prAna is incorporating synthetics into their organic offering and expanding their use of organic cotton into more items. Mens woven sport shirts are also expanding as well as prAnas use of Indian-inspired prints and patterns.
