From the urban jungle to the great outdoors, what hides beneath hip China’s lust for layers?
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year – to flip through the pages of young China’s 2022 lookbook.
A barrage of fishnet, hold the “tights,” and other gauzy concoctions, all-weather-proof outerwear that makes one blend in with their natural surroundings, and many more items that seemed to have been pulled straight from British adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls’ wardrobe flashes before the eyes. The question becomes…
From the urban jungle to the great outdoors, what hides beneath hip China’s lust for layers?
The Hike Is On
Earthy-tone safari jackets, multi-pocket vests, and drawstring bucket hats. This was the typical mood board of October’s mainland mode. Referred to as 山系穿搭 (shān xì chuāndā in Chinese| literally translating as mountain outfit) or mountaincore, this look weaving together camping-inspired utility wear with urban chic was one of fall’s displays of the outdoor boom in young, happening China.
Apart from winter sports, which skyrocketed in popularity during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, we’ll slalom back to that, stringent Covid-19 conditions throughout the year left more and more people craving a breath of fresh air outside their homes’ four walls. Chinese Gen Zs and millennials have increasingly turned to open-air activities and sports like hiking and frisbeeing for physical and spiritual wellbeing and reconnecting with nature.
Though the term already existed in the early 2010s to describe Japan’s urban outdoor trend yama style—yama meaning mountain in Japanese, mountaincore didn’t hit the Middle Kingdom’s mainstream until COVID-19 drove millions of young Chinese to spend their holidays hiking and camping outside their own cities instead of holidaying in other parts of China or abroad. Searches for “glamping” even surged 623 percent year-on-year in April 2022, according to Chinese Pinterest slash e-commerce platform 小红书 (xiǎo hóng shū| Little Red Book). A November report from the platform also listed 山系生活 (shān xì shēnghuó| mountain life) as one of this year’s top 10 emerging lifestyle trends, Jing Daily, the leading digital publication on luxury consumer trends in China, wrote that same month.
Today, Little Red Book’s “mountaincore” hashtag is filled with over 30,000 aficionados graciously sharing with followers how to combine utility shirts, stretchy jeans and logo caps to create looks that can be worn at home, on camping weekends or just to strut your stuff through any megacity’s coolest neighborhoods. Often mixed with streetwear and a genderless vibe, the style resembles many young Chinese’s ideal selves: nature-loving, relaxed, and free. Funnily enough, this appears to be right on par with how the powers-that-be envisage their nation’s ideal younger generations.
On November 21, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a national development guidance on camping, a first for the sector. The guidance encouraged cities to designate public green spaces for same-day camping, while rural and sightseeing areas can establish larger camping bases.
The recent initiatives from China’s public sector signal that it is exploring the lucrative potential of these alfresco lifestyle trends mostly fueled by demand from young Chinese consumers. And fashion has simply followed suit. The “outdoor outfit” and “camping outfit” hashtags on Little Red Book had garnered 37.9 and 24.5 million views, respectively, as of late November.
Of course, there are always those who like to lift the stakes to the next in-vogue level…
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The Outdoor Glow-up
Enter: gorpcore—think mountaincore on one too many matchas. If you’re wondering what on Earth that is, you’ve come to the right place.
The term first appeared in the United States in 2017 to describe the rise in popularity of functional gear normally only seen on hikers and mountain climbers. Named after the colloquial term for trail mix–Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts or GORP for short, it elevates practical items to stylish must-haves.
Technically, when discussing gorpcore, you’re talking about items that have been designed for extreme outdoor activities such as skiing, running, and hiking—not exactly glamping material. They keep you warm and dry, rather than show off your fashion credentials… until now, that is.
Largely thanks to high-profile celebs and influencers posing and posting in their oversized fleeces and gilets on social media, gorpcore has now become one of China’s hottest fall/winter wardrobe trends.
The best shackets (a crossover between a shirt and jacket), the finest winter hats, thermal socks and nylon bags… it’s all about function first. Gorpcore is also very much a genderless look which means that you can shop from all categories to mix and match to faddy delight.
Of course, many brands soon spotted an opening to snuggle up with young Chinese consumers. Take the example of gaming console brand Xbox and Chinese gaming platform GameCores, who teamed up to release merchandise made exclusively for gorpcore-lovers. Released on Alibaba’s online shopping Walhalla Taobao on October 18, the collection features fashionable outerwear from windbreakers to anorak jackets and functional accessories in shades of green, black and white. And fans are game for this. Beijing-based Song Yishan, one of this author’s artist friends with a proclivity for Multi-Player Online Battle Arena adventures, said, “The whole layer-upon-layer trend is very straightforward. It’s tomboyish, but not overly masculine. Bit of a Western 90s grunge vibe with a warmer twist. Plus, I think GameCores releasing an outerwear-inspired collection was something cool and new, not just a ruse based on a trending whim to seduce consumers.”
Song also happens to be an avid snowboarder; ; a rather unsurprising fact given China’s snow sports sector is another fashion game changer that has been reaching new altitudes.
Screenshot taken on December 21 shows Little Red Book users comparing ski apparel brands, from renowned luxury labels to homegrown ones
Stylish (Wh)oomph
Double 11, running from October 24 to November 11 this year, is China’s largest e-commerce shopping festival. According to Tmall, a Taobao spin-off, this year’s edition saw four major growing categories: outdoor sports, pet supplies, collectible toys, and jewelry. Under those four categories, the sales of 385 brands were worth over RMB 100 million (USD14 million).
During just the first hour of Double 11 on Tmall, sales of running garments increased by 45.2 percent and that of camping equipment by 115 percent. Sales of skiing-related goods went up by 61.9 percent.
In February, the Beijing Olympics fashioned an adrenaline-induced pulsating winter apparel niche in China. The nation’s (budding) winter sports devotees hit the slopes because of an amplified slash advertised awareness of open-air sports. And they did so with flair.
For branded ski apparel, opportunity roams rife in this sector. The winter sports boom has also come at a time when status and style deliver whoomph, whoomph (our skiing onomatopoeia of choice, just FYI) lifestyle receipts, and related products cater to consumers beyond the ski slopes—enter après-ski outfits, suitable for mountain chalets or just an average minus-6-degree afternoon spent in the capital’s hottest districts.
And as Beijing’s suburban ski slopes opened up again on December 6 for a new season of chic shenanigans in the snow, the Little Red Book numbers reflect the passion for pizzazz: the “what to wear for skiing” hashtag featured over 136,000 notes, tips and tricks to cut the most fab figure that will leave everybody in your powder as of December 18. In Song’s words, “If I’m gonna take a tumble, I’d prefer to do so in style.”
Now that’s hardcore.
THIS IS AN EDITED VERSION OF ELSBETH VAN PARIDON’S ARTICLE FIRST PUBLISHED IN BEIJING REVIEW
FEATURED IMAGE: SCREENSHOTS OF THE “WHAT TO WEAR WHEN SKIING” CONTENT ON LITTLE RED BOOK
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Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, van Paridon set up The China Temper to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai, and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers, internationally renowned designers, and underground quirks plus phenomena: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.
The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st Century makeover. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations, regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene in the Middle Kingdom is exploding. And stretches far beyond what meets the eye. It’s appliqué, one might say.
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