What is Gorpcore?

Are you a victim of gorpcore? Have your favourite all-terrain Salomon sneakers doubled in price in the past five years? Don’t blame inflation. Blame the influencers.

 

Gorpcore is here. For better or worse, that makes me — and probably you, since you’re reading this — fashionable now. I know, it’s confronting. 

I own some Arc’teryx outerwear and a few pairs of Salomon trail shoes. I’m an oversized pair of zippable cargo pants away from ending up on @gorpcore.png with Frank Ocean.

 

 

It’s also making life hard as a Gear Editor, because I don’t know whether people want the clunky brown hiking shoes that look like hiking shoes, or the ones that look like Air Jordan’s. Are the clunky brown hiking shoes cooler now?

 

 

We asked our community on Instagram what they thought of the gorpcore phenomenon and drew comments ranging from, ‘hot af’, to ‘I’d camp in that’, to ‘I like it for inspo but I see it contributing to a wider fast fashion problem.’ 

To the poor bloke, who replied, ‘I don’t know what that is.’ I feel you, and here’s your answer…

What is Gorpcore?

When I first heard the term ‘Gorpcore’, I thought, ok, that obviously comes from ‘Gore-Tex’ and maybe something like, being ‘hardcore’ into the outdoors. Sure, makes sense. How wrong I was… 

Gorpcore was actually coined by an American in 2017. It’s in reference to G.O.R.P. from, ‘good ol’ raisins and peanuts’ which is the colloquial term for trail mix in the States. 

I guess we should be thankful an Aussie didn’t come up with it then? ‘Scroggincore’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. 

It’s a fashion movement characterised by wearing traditionally functional and technical outdoor clothing in more urban, un-technical settings.

Read: What Is Scroggin and Why Is Scroggin So Damn Good?

How long has Gorpcore been around?

The hiking aesthetic has been around for a while. The previously shown image of Frank Ocean in the bright orange Mammut jacket comes by way of the Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris back in 2019.

It’s a driving force behind some of the seemingly weirder outdoor collaborations that have come across our desks in recent years as well. Think, The North Face x Gucci collaborations in 2021 that drew the ire of many outdoors people and the dollars of many others. $315 cotton hiking socks anyone?

Is Gorpcore here to stay?

While the TNF x Gucci collab is an extreme example of the fashion statement, many endemic outdoor brands are cashing in on the more mainstream interest in what was previously a relatively ‘small market’ for trail shoes and other technical apparel. 

StockX is an online marketplace and clothing reseller that deals primarily in shoes. They produce an annual Current Culture Index based on resale demand for various brands. Any guesses who the fastest-growing sneaker brand was? Salomon!

Salomon sneakers had a year-over-year trade increase of 2,277%. 

Meanwhile, Hoka saw a 713% growth and was the 12th top-traded shoe brand on the site. For some context, Louis Vuitton shoes ranked no, 9.

What’s next?

Wondering what pair of shoes you should run out and grab before they ‘blow up’, as the kids say. I think?

StockX have their eyes on ‘Late 2000s Runners’. According to them, ‘sneaker silhouettes reminiscent of late 2000s runners saw a rise in 2022. And demand for styles like New Balance’s 2002R and Asics’ GEL Kayano 14 — both originally introduced in 2008 — remains high as we kick off the new year.’

Apparently, ‘these sneakers offer comfort without compromising on style.’ A line straight out of the Gear Editor’s playbook.

 

 

Moreover, according to StockX, ‘Gorpcore has moved from microtrend to mainstay, cementing its place in youth culture. Names like Salomon (+2,277%), Arc’teryx (+53%) and The North Face (+133%) are now at the centre of the sneaker and streetwear worlds.’

What do actual hikers think of gorpcore?

Most of the ‘literature’ on gorpcore comes from high fashion publications telling you why you should wear gorpcore apparel. 

But, has anyone asked the OG’s? The original Gorpcorists who have been holding down the Gorpfort in Columbia and Mountain Designs for decades. 

I asked a few WAE employees what they thought. After clarifying ‘wtf is gorpcore’ with the help of another employee describing it as, ‘puffer jackets on catwalks and eshays in Salomons’, we decided it wasn’t so bad after all. 

‘I actually love it. A lot of adventure clothes are so daggy (imo) and the gorpcore trend means I can get high-tech clothes and still dress like myself and not my gran. (No offence to gran, she’s killing it, just not my current vibe).’

‘Gorpcore is great. It means that the daggy, dirtbag dress sense I’ve been rocking for years is now fashionable.’ 

However, valid concerns lie in getting too caught up with the latest ‘in’ outdoor brand. ‘I worry it can take focus away from what made the brand good, like Arc’teryx has shown some signs of focusing on fashion and less on quality and performance.’ There are also worries ‘it has the potential to push fast fashion ideas that outdoor brands should avoid.’

However, as those concerns are yet to be realised, we’re all for the wider population buying from reputable outdoor gear brands and therefore funding the outdoor industry, which by-and-large, has a better track record on sustainability than others.

So, who cares if said eshays want a pair of Salomon XT-6’s that were, according to Salomon in 2013, ‘the preferred footwear of world-class athletes to run ultra-distance races in the harshest of conditions?’

 

 

Cover image by @gorpcore.png