White Mounterneering. Mens Spring 2020 - Paris Fashion Week

(Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com)  

This year I advised an American outdoor shoe company, which shall remain nameless, on the importance of opening up their local markets to broader fashion styles, more so the fusion of casual street/utility and mountaineering looks that have become fashion trends from 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.  Rather than solely concentrating on the outdoor hiking market. They declined the advice, in lieu of remaining fixed on outdoor and so called adventure wear as their selective market.  Seen at the tail end of 2018 and more so in 2019 is the sportswear  collaborations that have occurred in earnest and there is a reason, the bigger and financial more stable conglomerative international sports brands can offer a life line to a smaller or medium size independent brand, be that from further exposure or a monetary injection, which may lead to a prelude of an acquisition. 

White Mountaineering was created in 2006 by Yosuke Aizawa, a student of the Tokyo Tama Art University, who then later went onto to work with Junya Watanabe.  Within ten years of graduation to the runways of Paris, Aizawa has formed White Mountaineering into a niche model of fashion and deign.  Utilizing the mountaineering outdoor styles and reconfiguring them into a concept brand has played out as a successful direction for his signature label.  But, Aizawa's collaborations is where he has really embraced the larger brands to promote his indpentant concept; and the list is impressive from Saucony, Burton, Poter, Teva Seiko and the iconic Scottish coat compnay Barbour. 

Aizawa's Spring 2020 collection , as seen with South Korean designer Juun. J who also melds the outdoor, and more recently, the fine tailored, as a formal infusion of street styles, all with a nod of respect to Yohji Yamamoto's Adidas collaborations with Y'3.   Aizawa is running the course of finer tailoring, this could also be the emerging trend of fashion slowly down i.e slow fashion, which is probably more in-tune with markets beginning to wind down from the hyper fast sell of post graduate ambition.  We are in a fashion bubble with too many brands.  To what ever effect it may be, survival is intrinsic, therefor creating limited ranges on one hand and collaborating with its mass appeal on the other - would be a smart move. 

As mentioned the styling for White Mountaineering recent showing in Paris is impressive, however at times it comes off kilter, slightly ad hoc with a confused slathering.  The tailoring is there and this is where Aizawa shows his ability as a former pattern and textile student, yet, in saying that the collection does have a post graduated feel. Which indicates that the brand is still trying to find its footing within its independent roots, whilst trying to sell White Mountaineering into a collaborative deal with larger brands – sourcing markets for deals is prudent but should not be at the expense of losing the core momentum of its ideas.  

In summary, White Mountaineering's latest collection has diluted its previous and more original concepts, embracing an overworked and immature (the eye makeup is a silly concept), ensemble.  Which is a shame.