Podcast Summary: Articles of Interest

Episode: Gear: Chapter 6
Host: Avery Trufelman
Date: November 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Avery Trufelman explores the deep interconnections between military, fashion, and outdoor gear, tracing the roots and impact of the "gorpcore" trend. By unravelling the influence of military design and utilitarian clothing on contemporary fashion, Trufelman investigates how issues of gender, inclusion, and function are reflected and shaped by the clothes we wear – from army uniforms to athleisure and urban streetwear. The episode features interviews with designers, veterans, journalists, and industry insiders, offering personal stories and expert analysis on the ongoing evolution of "gear" and its cultural implications.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Blurred Lines Between Military, Outdoor, and Fashion Gear

• Avery’s Encounter with a Shearling Flight Jacket:
  • At the Natick research center, Avery admires a seemingly "authentic" military coat worn by retired Lt. Col. David Assetta. The coat turns out to be a Stussy streetwear piece, blurring the line between real military gear and fashion’s imitation.
    • "The fashion interpretation of military was good enough for an actual veteran... to wear at work." (03:05)
• Military and Fashion’s Mutual Influence:
  • Historical cross-pollination began as early as designers adapting the M43 military jacket for civilians, highlighting how Americans aspire to a rugged, outdoorsy look.

2. The Birth of Gorpcore and Outdoor Fashion

• Origin of "Gorpcore":
  • J. Chen, former New York magazine writer, coined "gorpcore" in 2017. Describes adopting outdoor gear (parkas, hiking sandals, puffers) for urban fashion.
    • "It was kind of ugly, but cool-looking and also a little bit fashion." (06:40)
  • "GORP" = "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts" (trail mix); "-core" as in normcore, dadcore, clowncore.
• Fashion-Outdoor Collaborations:
  • Surge of collaborations: Gucci x The North Face, Dior x Birkenstock, and others (22:48).
• Soho's "Gorp Corridor":
  • Emilia Petrarca (fashion writer) notes influx of outdoor brands in NYC’s Soho—REI, Carhartt WIP, Arc’teryx, The North Face, Patagonia—reflecting gorpcore’s spread.
    • "Soho did become gorped. Soho got gorped." (18:35)

3. Gender, Inclusion & Sizing in Military and Outdoor Gear

• Persistent Gender Issues in Uniforms:
  • Andrea Goldstein (Navy veteran): Describes how ill-fitting uniforms send a daily signal of exclusion to women in the military.
    • "An ill fitting uniform is an insidious pecking away at respect." (34:02)
  • For years, women’s military uniforms were just smaller men’s uniforms, failing to consider female bodies.
  • Victoria Chamberlain (Army veteran): Describes shared uniforms with her husband and the failed attempt at gender-neutral ACUA.
    • "It sounds superficial, but an outfit that makes you look frumpy can really mess with your confidence..." (38:06)
• Outdoor Industry’s Parallel Struggles:
  • Michelle Rose (designer): Describes "pink it & shrink it" approach—making men’s gear smaller, pinker, but not actually functional for women (50:40).
  • Title IX and the 1990s led to performance fabric being made for women for the first time, catalyzing athleisure's rise.
    • "That’s where athleisure came in. Ah, the birth of athleisure, that point where leggings became pants." (54:25)
• REI and Inclusive Sizing Revolution:
  • Scott Mosier (REI creative director): Describes REI’s overhaul toward inclusive sizing—fit forms for wider range of body shapes, not just scaled from one “medium”.
    • "We have men's and women's clothing, but we also have unisex clothing and we have non gendered, which we just call adults. And it's a completely new size chart." (59:29)
  • New unisex and adjustable military uniforms at Natick, designed by Annette LaFleur without gendered sizes (1:04:13).

4. Material Innovation: Functional Fabrics and Their Origins

• Industry Evolution:
  • Outdoor brands rely on external innovation in textiles—hydrophobic coatings, wicking, stretch—which designers like Daniella Kane and Michelle Rose adapted for fashion in the 90s (46:42).
• Blurred Boundaries:
  • Proliferation of technical fabrics means that most fashion gear now shares properties with "real" performance wear, making the lines between functional and fashionable gear barely visible.

5. The Military-Outdoor-Commercial Venn Diagram

• Outdoor Research Case Study:
  • Kat Shewey (VP, Outdoor Research) openly discusses their work for both civilian consumers and the US Army (1:22:49).
    • "We are incredibly transparent about this part of our business and really proud of it with Outdoor Research. It’s right there on their homepage, there’s a tab that says Tactical and you can just click it and it says same outdoors, different mission."
  • OR’s development of high-end gloves for Special Forces and mass-production gloves for all soldiers—demonstrating trickle-down, trickle-across innovation and cross-industry fertilization.
    • "Outdoor Research might literally produce the same jacket in two different colors, one for special ops and one for the outdoor industry... The outdoor industry jacket will probably be more colorful..." (1:32:12)
  • Price pressures and government contracting: how function, quality, and cost create a pyramid of gear from elite to mass-produced.

6. Gorpcore’s Secret Military Sauce

• Fashion Learns from Special Forces:
  • High-performance, muted, logo-less gear for special operators (Arc’teryx LEAF, Canada Goose law enforcement lines, etc.) inspired fashion designers and consumers (1:42:58).
  • Drake & Virgil Abloh at Fashion Week (2020):
    • Wearing Arc’teryx LEAF jackets became a "peak moment" for gorpcore—tactical gear as status symbol.
• Industry Testimonies:
  • Fashion buyer Peter:
    • "Canada Goose was... not exactly cool. In 2018, Canada Goose upped the offer. Instead of their normal parkas, they let Todo Kaioh sell their tactical coats... It was sleek, rare, expensive, and high performance. We got some really good press and it sold really, really fast." (1:46:12)
  • Kat Shewey confirms that tactical lines in muted colors have become top sellers in the commercial market.
• Potential Causal Link:
  • Charles McFarlane (costume historian):
    • "You just happen to have GorpCorp coming up at the same time you have the global war on terror truly slowing down. I think there's a connection point there." (1:51:32)

7. The Endgame: Lethality, Ethics, and the Changing Face of the Military

• Military Designer Perspective:
  • Annette LaFleur:
    • "The number one priority is giving the soldier an enhanced capability to be more lethal. To not have them think about what they’re wearing per se, but to be able to focus on their mission..." (1:59:46)
  • Trufelman reflects on the sobering reality that, ultimately, military uniforms are for "lethality," and as the military contracts to become less inclusive, the clothes are evidence of larger sociopolitical trends.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The fashion interpretation of military was good enough for an actual veteran who works on a military base to wear at work."
  – Avery Trufelman (03:05)
• "Gorpcore is adopting the apparel commonly associated with outdoor activities... and wearing it in an urban context."
  – Jason Chen (06:20)
• "An ill fitting uniform is an insidious pecking away at respect."
  – Andrea Goldstein (34:02)
• "Leggings became pants. Lululemon, Athleta, Lucy: all those came out in late 90s as some of the first outdoor and active brands that were really going towards sportswear performance stuff for women that you could wear on the street."
  – Michelle Rose (54:16)
• "We have men's and women's clothing, but we also have unisex clothing and we have non gendered, which we just call adults. And it’s a completely new size chart."
  – Scott Mosier, REI (59:29)
• "We are incredibly transparent about this part of our business and really proud of it... same outdoors, different mission."
  – Kat Shewey, Outdoor Research (1:22:49)
• "That product is so good, so technically advanced, that the police and the military use it."
  – Peter, fashion buyer (1:46:12)
• "The number one priority is giving the soldier an enhanced capability to be more lethal... to focus on their mission."
  – Annette Lafleur, military designer (1:59:46)
• "I think there’s a connection point there...that tactical market...can go into the fashion market."
  – Charles McFarlane (1:51:32)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:01 – Avery’s introduction, Natick field trip, military/fashion overlap
• 06:05 – Jason Chen interview, invention of “gorpcore”
• 18:28 – Soho as the epicenter of gorpcore, fashion’s embrace of outdoor wear
• 22:48 – Fashion-outdoor brand collaborations and their mainstreaming
• 34:02 – Andrea Goldstein on fitting issues for women in the military
• 38:06 – Victoria Chamberlain and the gender-neutral Army uniform
• 46:42 – Evolution of functional fabrics, 90s/00s outdoor-to-athleisure shift
• 54:16 – Michelle Rose, the "pink it & shrink it" problem
• 59:29 – Scott Mosier explains REI’s inclusive sizing system
• 1:04:13 – Annette Lafleur on the military’s new, non-gendered uniform sizing
• 1:22:49 – Kat Shewey, Outdoor Research, transparency about government contracts
• 1:32:12 – Discussion of product differences between military and civilian lines
• 1:42:58 – Arc’teryx LEAF and the Drake/Virgil Abloh moment; connection to gorpcore
• 1:46:12 – Canada Goose’s move to commercialize their tactical line
• 1:51:32 – McFarlane ties the decline of the war on terror to gorpcore’s rise
• 1:59:46 – Annette Lafleur on the purpose of design: lethality

Conclusion

This densely reported episode of Articles of Interest lays bare the entwined histories and present realities of fashion, military apparel, and performance gear. By investigating how "gorpcore" arose from a convergence of functional needs, social aspirations, and military-industrial trends, Trufelman opens up a conversation about inclusion, innovation, and the often-unseen politics behind what we wear—on the battlefield, the hiking trail, and the city streets.