Took a peek at the upcoming products that White Mountaineering will be releasing this fall and shit… it looks good. I’ve noticed a lot of obscure Japanese brands are slowly trickling more and more into the North American and European spotlight. Collaborations are constantly helping to expand the fan and customer bases of previously lesser known Japanese brands like White Mountaineering (ongoing adidas collab, Barbour collab), Sasquatchfabrix (Supreme collab), and UNDERCOVER (ongoing Nike collab, even a recent Beats by Dre collab) to more mainstream eyes and ears.
Regardless, the strength of these companies really boils down to their primary in house offerings which quietly cement their reputation with every new collection as pretty much the absolute best and most stylish clothing a guy can buy and wear. The thing with Japanese brands I’ve come to notice is there is not an overwhelming sense of trend following. There may be a couple pieces here and there that fall into that category but the inspiration and overall presentation is always refreshing season after season, show after show and does not sway to necessarily please a certain crowd.
Anyways, there are some absolutely killer pieces in White Mountaineering’s fall + winter offering that caught my eye. Here they are.
BANDANNA PATTERN PRINTED MOUNTAIN PARKA / REVERSIBLE SHOP COAT / STAND COLLAR SHIRT / PULLOVER SHIRT / EASY PANTS
The paisley pattern utilized this season is insanely intricate and eye catching. They went all out and decided to pretty much create a whole outfit from top to bottom with the print in navy, red, and black (not pictured). The coat and pants are a bit excessive for my taste but the collar-less button-up shirts and pullovers are nothing short of beautiful. Also, that mountain parka shits on the Supreme and The North Face collab from a while ago.
SHAGGY BIG SILHOUETTE PULLOVER / LEGGINGS
I’m super into these shaggy knit sweaters. Both colour-ways are sweet and the very slightly cropped hem is a nice touch. The leggings are definitely more experimental but what’s life if you can’t be dressed head to toe in one luxurious shaggy textile? Especially when it’s the same colour as a crispy golden chicken nugget?
HUNTING PATTERN PRINTED PATCH DENIM PANTS
The perfect jeans to wear with that shaggy golden chicken nugget sweater. Slim, light wash denim reinvented in a humourus but sophisticated manner.
PATCHWORK PANTS
So subtle. Pants get boring and overlooked sometimes as plain, one-dimensional slacks that come in a single colour. These patchwork pants come in three colours, each with a unique mix of fabrics and differing hues of the same colour spectrum in between.
ESTER TAFFETA DOWN RAGLAN BLOUSON
BLK line blouson jacket that is super-low-key-fly-as-hell. The mix of nylon and suede is the best. Man-made + natural fabrics into one super power light weight puffy down jacket. Understated statement piece for the chilly dog walking in the park days. Also really sums up White Mountaineering well, the perfect combination of design, utility, and technology.
PADDED VIBRAM SOLE SHORT BOOTS
Vibram soles make everything better (almost). These remind me of those puffy The North Face slipper shoe things except way slicker and won’t make you look like a weirdo. Also part of the BLK line and comes in grey as well.
DOG PATTERN / BORDER PATTERN MIDDLE SOCKS
White Mountaineering was one of the first brands that made me ponder the question every online shopper has at least asked themselves twice: are these fifty dollar socks worth it? The answer will always be no because no socks should ever be worth that much but these put up a damn good fight otherwise.
–
That was just a small taste of the full collection.. lots of other cool stuff too, even a womens line. Local Vancouver cool-guy store HAVEN is the exclusive Canadian stockist of White Mountaineering and has already received a couple pieces from the first delivery for the fall+winter. Here ya go: HAVEN – White Mountaineering
– j
LINKS
White Mountaineering Instagram
Interview with head designer Yosuke Aizawa
somevacancy.wordpress.com 