Arc’teryx Veilance and the Even Greater Outdoors

I think one of the key things for us is to try to be consistent and stay focused on our core ideas and not get pulled around too much by what’s going on in the market place. It comes down to having more of an industrial design approach than a fashion approach; we tend to be focused more on problem-solving and less on trend-watching. That can be precarious at times, but it has proven to be a solid approach for us.

There was always a curiosity and desire to be able to explore what we could create with the different construction techniques that we were working with, because Arc’teryx’s contribution to apparel has really been all about lamination and adhesives and how to create functionality through those construction techniques. This drive for functionality has created a certain aesthetic, and Veilance emerged by us trying to make things lighter, more durable, and more invisible in an urban space. Part of starting Veilance was about giving us a little bit of freedom to explore. It allowed us to put these products out on the side and slowly release them into a different channel and see what reaction we got from them.

Arc’teryx has been successful at creating performance outerwear that had enough design sensibility that it could be appropriated into urban spaces. One can see that from the early adoption in Japan, when Arc’teryx first released outerwear. Our hope is that we can make products that are elegant enough that people appropriate them, or get more versatile use from them. It may be that the macro trend is for millennials to be indoors, but I think there’s still a strong stream of people who want that connection with the outdoors and want to be able to transition between both environments.

One of the things that we see a lot with the growing presence of social media and people documenting everything they do is that they want to be able to express their identity consistently in whatever environment they’re in. So, before, people didn’t necessarily put a lot of thought into what they looked like if they were going hiking. All of a sudden, if you’re going to post your hike on Instagram, it’s about “How do I express my personal identity in that space?” They put as much thought and curation into that as they do perhaps going to work or to socialize. That desire to consistently express one’s identity through situational curation is having a big effect on the apparel industry.

I think to be perfectly honest, one part of it is scale—and there’s a commercial reality to scale. But there is a place for more color exploration within the Veilance line and it’s definitely something that will come. Right now it’s probably more to do with scale than to do with creative desire or vision.

Longevity comes from creating something functional that people have an emotional connection to. In our technical gear, we want our products to become your trusted companion in the wilderness. Another element is the memories that these garments embody. I will never retire my first Arc’teryx backpack because I have accumulated so many memories with it. So that’s the first element of driving longevity. The second, is to actually build products that are durable enough to endure the environment that they’re designed for—whether that’s an urban environment or a mountain environment.

I mean I think there are two sides to the Veilance customer. There are the early adopters. I’ve repaired a center-front zip into someone’s field jacket three times. He lives in Vancouver and has worn it religiously through the winters since he got it. But I think he’s proud of the patina that it has, right? I’m sure I’ll see that jacket again for several more repairs. Then there is the other client, who when their product is done they retire it and look for the next thing, or buy another one that’s shiny again. But I think the product does patina and wear well.

From a technology standpoint, we’re more focused on creating invisible advantage for people. We are trying to eliminate that sense of having to constantly change layers. So how do you create a more invisible experience? Arc’teryx, at its core, is made for mountaineering and alpinism, and consumers need products that have consistent performance. We haven’t spent any time on electrical systems or any of these adjunct things that may be prone to failure because what we need to do is provide reliable, durable performance that people can depend on in really difficult places.

On some level it’s helping people accelerate what they’re able to do. It’s great that you can constantly have a map with you on your iPhone. But, there’s something inherently dangerous about that too because people aren’t learning the fundamentals. What if you’re relying on your iPhone to get you home from Joffre’s Lake and you’re the last person in the dark, and the only map you have is your iPhone, and the only headlamp you have is the torch on the back of your phone--and you get a flat battery? In some ways it distracts people from the benefits of interacting with nature. It’s a double-edged sword.