When The Outdoors Ate Paris: Sport Hijacks Men's Fashion

Paris Fashion Week insights, the sport x style zeitgeist, sandstorms, kelp dye, and aesthetic blending inspiration for all genders

TOGS

Jul 03, 2025

∙ Paid

(Click on the title above to read in the app on on togs.substack.com—it’s way better)

Hello readers!

Kellyn here.

It was around 3:30am last week in the Great Sand Dunes National park that I was laying wide awake.

I was sleeping tent-less under the stars when a sandstorm moved in. Unrelenting winds blew sand horizontally, and the extra powerful gusts would lift me and my camp pad up folding me like a little street taco. The wind filled my sleeping bag with sand each time I let a crack slip in the opening, which I tried to keep clutched closed with all my might. By this point in the night, the bottom half of my sleeping bag was now filled with sand (which actually ended up helping me stay on the ground through the strongest winds). I became a literal sandbag. My ears and eyes and nose were caked with sand. My teeth crunched down on grit. I knew my water bottle was an arm's distance away next to me on the ground getting slowly buried, but reaching out to get it meant letting the blowing sand back in and risking the wind hooking my sleeping bag with me inside and throwing me into the air like a windsock. I couldn't even get up to help as my friends' tent rods snapped in the wind, sending them scrambling to throw their bodies down on their gear and wait in a heap of mesh and nylon until morning. It was chaos and at the same time, a slow waiting game. So there I stayed. I had a full night with my mind wide awake to think. I thought about swimming and drinking cold water. I made a mental note that I should really open a Roth IRA. I thought about how 3:30am my time meant it was 11:30 in Paris and men's Spring/Summer 2026 fashion week was underway. I imagined myself there instead of here, in some fancy garb, politely shaking hands and fanning myself with a program while waiting for a show to start. As type 2 as this was, I genuinely wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

This is flip side of my Fashion Week coin, where I previously found myself daydreaming about the outdoors… excerpt here:

Between blinking sand from my eyes and realizing only four minutes had passed since I last checked my watch, I thought about the magic of moving between different interests and watching them collide in unexpected ways.

When disparate worlds do collide, we’re all better for it. Humans migrate across borders and suddenly the culture, cuisine, and shared experiences become more vibrant and complex.

The world of high fashion crashed into the outdoors and declared “Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts, GORPCORE is born!” And this brought so many nauturey people into fashion, and so many fashiony people out into nature.

and a big thumbs up for that! Poncho vest & zip off pants from Oakley

I've been fascinated by gender-neutral and men's specific outdoor garb this summer, and how we can use these pieces on and off of the trail in interesting ways. It's a hoot to watch high fashion brands become completely enamored with sportswear, hiking apparel, and technical fabrics. There's never been a better time to be an outdoorsperson interested in fashion, eh?!

Following men’s Paris Fashion Week has only reinforced that technical materials and outdoors-inspired motifs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and that they are still being utilized in new and interesting ways.

In this letter, I’ll share some of my favorite collections that have been designed with both fashion and sport in mind, hoping to inspire new ways to blend our own hiking gear and sporty clothes into the rest of our wardrobes.

I think these ideas will resonate with people of all genders who appreciate thoughtful design.

But before diving into today's letter, here are some notable developments at the intersection of sport and fashion:

Caleb Olsen won Western States and his Nike ACG shirt got all the attention:

I didn’t even have to filter through Olsen’s IG post, these were all the top comments.

If anyone ever thinks that style doesn’t matter in functional clothing, the splash this made could be Exhibit A. (Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc.) This little synthetic mesh crop top really got people talking. And then it got them looking into the event, and thinking about running, and talking about the brand, and discovering the athlete. It matters! I’m curious to see what Nike ACG comments on in regard to the design of this shirt and it’s intended functionality.

Drakes & New Balance Collaborated

The shoes are a such a *balanced* blend of the two brands, (exactly how collabs should be) but I especially love the art direction of this campaign. The styling of the knit tie, white shirt, & casual coat are perfection. And this expensive but gorgeous Rugby is 10/10.

Older Brother made a collection naturally dyed with kelp

The SS25 collection titled “Low Tide” was dyed with Sargassum, an invasive algae along the California coast which is often removed as part of coastal management practices. Older Brother, in partnership with Nature Spirit Herbs, collected the seaweed, processed it into powders, and used it to create the natural dye for these pieces. The colors are to dye for. (sorry)

Ok now on to some recent collections that capture the dialogue between sport and fashion—

White Mountaineering SS26

What I like:

-Trouser silhouettes made with technical fabrics (Images 3, 4, 7)

-Webbing/rope belts

-Big all over prints

-Tops cinched at the waist under an additional vest or jacket layer (3, 4)

ROA SS26

Side note: I recently interviewed ROA and wrote about the brand for Field Mag: READ HERE! (There some fun exclusive intel about an upcoming partnership)

What I like:

-Plaids/ginghams!

-Genderless skirts

-Leather (?) mules that could be dressed up or down to the ends of the spectrum. Perfection (4)