A new trend I am seeing when it comes to clothes, aesthetics, and lifestyle — this popularization of a ‘trail’ aesthetic.

Why is this? Some thoughts:

First of all, the new elitism and luxury is naturey-outdoorsy stuff. For example, if you consider REI, Patagonia, The North Face, Arc-Teryx, etc — what is it all geared towards? Rich silicon valley folks, or ‘low key’ rich people from Berkeley.

Even the new Nike ACG (all conditions gear) brand– the new aesthetic is for hiking. GORE TEX is very in, waterproof is in, and it seems also with COVID, more and more people are starting to discover the outdoors as a new leisure option.

Even with clothing, the trend is towards having more grip on your sole, more cargo-style pants, pockets, zippers, and more ‘functional’ clothing. Trail-leisure clothing is the new ‘AthLeisure’.

Why is the outdoors so popular (now, and again?)