Gorpcore is the new normcore
Gorpcore is taking fashion runways, city streets, and the Salt Palace by storm.
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Socks and Chacos? Fleeces that fit like bags? Vests? In 2017, the fashion industry is saying yes to all.
It’s called gorpcore and it’s fusing the fundamentals of practical campwear with the principles of high fashion to create an urban inside joke with a dash of earnestness.
“The clothing we choose to wear sends a message on who we are and how our values align in the world,” said Sunshine Fox, senior manager of color, material, and trend at REI. “Gorpcore tells the world that you care about the environment and that you take time to unplug and get outdoors.”
Like normcore before it, gorpcore’s main idea is that the unfashionable can be fashionable—if you wear it right. At its center, gorpcore is a rejection of consumerism where minimalism supplants glamour.
Fashion reporters in New York have noted gorpcore beginning to infuse street style—with some trend practitioners going as far as to wear fleece vests and fanny packs as they tromp around Manhattan and Brooklyn.
For retailers and buyers alike, it’s more than just a fleeting burst of Patagucci pullovers and grandpa-ish wool sweaters, but a sign of the times.
“We view gorpcore as a response to the chaos and anxiety happening in the world,” says Fox. “From politics to the feelings of always having to be tethered to a device.”
Gorpcore answers the call of the wild with a response that’s hard to argue with: The only way out of the chaos is over the back fence and into the woods.
