Take a hike! How walking gear got a high fashion makeover Naomi May
Our collective hunger for comfort has never been more apparent than it is now.
Month ten of the New Normal and trousers have been swapped for trackies, our heels replaced with house shoes and our poplin shirts traded for pyjamas. Times have changed. And now we’re ready to take it one step further, by embracing outdoor apparel. No, not your camel coat, your tan trench, or your box-fresh sneakers, but hiking boots! Puffer jackets! Hell, even fleeces!
Once the preserve of geography teachers, the UK’s outdoor industry (which includes apparel and footwear) was valued at £1.5 billion in 2020 and has been predicted to grow by a further £2.8 billion by 2024.
Precious Lee for Drest.
The best virtual try-on fashion apps
When it comes to shoes and accessories, Wanna offers one of the best virtual trying-on experiences you could ask for, which is probably why model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova invested in the fashion tech start-up spearheaded by ex-Googler Sergey Arkhangelskiy.
Wanna Kicks is a digital sneaker store stocked with the usual suspects Nike, Adidas, Reebok and more fashion-orientated labels such as Common Projects and Gucci. It’s easy to use: scroll through the offerings to find a style you like, point your camera at your feet and as if by magic, your chosen trainers will appear on the screen before you decide whether to buy them. The SneakerKit from Berlin-based startup Vyking offers a similar service and while it may not have the variety of styles that Wanna Kicks has, it is the only app that allows you to try on Nike Air Jordan Retros.
The whimsical pieces, featuring beloved characters like Totoro and the soot sprites, promise to bring a nostalgic, dreamy comfort not unlike how Totoro and friends soothed Mei in the Hayao Miyazaki-directed movie.
Surprised that Loewe s venerable Jonathan Anderson is joining forces with Studio Ghibli (the animation studio known for
Totoro,
Spirited Away, and more classics
) for a collaboration? You shouldn t be it was only a matter of time until the luxury market tried its hand at high-end
Totoro merch. For some time now, fashion designers have been looking to Japanese animation for inspiration. At Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière has cited
Gallery of Sandy Liang Store / Almost Studio archdaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archdaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.