The story of outdoor fashion begins with things built to last. For White Mountaineering‘s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, designer Yosuke Aizawa looks back to the 1970s, when gear like Kelty’s aluminum frame packs and early Gore-Tex jackets redefined what clothing could endure.

Fifty years later, Aizawa isn’t just reviving that spirit; he’s evolving it. The same rugged ethos that defined ’70s mountaineering gear now meets 21st-century innovation: polyester mesh shirts that look like classic madras but breathe like performance wear, seamless knits engineered for movement, synthetic leather trimmed down to featherweight flexibility. Even Gore-Tex gets a modern makeover, stripped of bulk without losing its toughness.

Aizawa’s vision has always been about clothing that moves with the body, and here, he nods to the DIY ingenuity of early outdoor enthusiasts, those who customized their flannels and cut-off denim for the trail. Now, with advanced materials and construction, that same inventive energy becomes precision. Checks and stripes aren’t just patterns; they’re engineered into high-tech mesh. “Heavy-duty” no longer means heavy; it means smarter, lighter, tougher.

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