Following a few years of obsession with heritage, men have started to make the connection that certain styles were abandoned for a reason and that creative green shoots are essential for a thriving fashion industry.
Recently, the workwear trend has presented us with a range of duffle bags which dig into your shoulders, backpacks that take ages to open and boots that resembled platform shoes. Thankfully, however, a few designers have started working on merging the heritage look with a 21st century approach to functionality.
One such brand is Japanese brand Nanamica, the design team behind The North Face's purple label. On the surface their clothes are simple - duffel coats, parkas, field jackets and backpacks - but the difference is in the detail.
The duffel coat, for instance, is not known for working well in the rain (that is unless you favour the drowned rat look) but Nanamica sidestepped that problem by using a waterproof wool blend; retaining the classic look whilst improving on the original in the functionality stakes.
In addition to Nanamica, companies such as Arc'teryx Veilance and 6876 have all experimented with functional materials. Visit www.nanamica.com for more.
Words by Jason Dike
