Bespoke casual fashion has always been around in men’s category, hinting at a less formal, sporty, outdoorsy lifestyle wear. The trend took off in the 70s and with each passing decade, transformed to suit mainstream fashion of that time. But now, casual wear or more precisely, bespoke casual suits that are tailored and crafted to suit the customer’s self-expression rather than the expected mold is what the rich and the famous are after. This attitude seems to go down well with the latest core ‘Gorpcore’.
Gorpcore beautified and trending
Gorpcore is all about embracing hiking-inspired pieces like vests, cargo pants, fleece jackets, hiking boots, and other outdoor wear. While gorpcore fashion tends to lean towards baggier silhouettes, it is also versatile and customizable, and that is part of its appeal.
At its root, gorpcore is all about mixing outdoor gear with your own personal style. “Gorpcore is wearing functional outdoor wear in an urban, trendy style,” says Shalev Lavàn, Los Angeles-based fashion stylist in an interview with a leading international fashion magazine. The term was coined by writer and editor, Jason Chen back in 2017 but was initially used ironically to describe “defiantly ugly” outdoors fashion. Now, gorpcore is fully in vogue, and fashion’s and it people are rocking the look.
Jian DeLeon, men’s fashion director at Nordstrom, described the prevailing trends in menswear as seen at Pitti Uomo earlier as a mixture of comfort with casual elegance. The most popular pieces as seen on gorpcore men are over-sized cargo pants in all eclectic hues and puffy quilted jackets paired with block-colour T-shirts underneath. The other cores that have been trending in men’s fashion is the biker core and normcore. In biker core, men have popularized the legacy leather trousers and multizip leather biker jackets with matching cut-off gloves. Normcore is more focused on simple baggy silhouettes including straight leg and baggy jeans and trousers teamed with unstructured, long and flowing coats or cardigans.
It may be noted that Pitti’s semi-annual Florence trade show in June 2023 saw a more contemporary take as collections featured soft suits that spoke of style in a comfortable way and relaxed way, casual shoes and T-shirts of expressive shirts that created a chic, casual look that had a bit of the relaxed gorpcore in it. Euromonitor has hailed the growth of menswear globally moving ahead at a CAGR of 5.8 per cent for the next four years valued at $548 billion.
Revisiting the formal tailor
The new-look tailored offering is just more contemporary in silhouette and stepping away from too much structure that has been its hallmark. Premium fabric known for drape and fall are being given a more versatile job to do – relaxed, casual and with a focus on free-flowing lines. Former Valentino and Zegna designer Aldo Maria Camillo presented his namesake brand’s second collection at Pitti this year as did the fledgling brand AMC run by former Valentino designer Aldo Maria Camillo and United Arrows co-founder Hirofumi Kurino (AMC). Storied Florentine tailor Liverano and Liverano made its debut at the trade show to much excitement among buyers, signaling a shift of traditional brands catering to more casual suiting consumers.
