It was long understood that fashion and function were mutually exclusive. Comfort and performance were seen as somehow uncool and there was an acceptance of the fact that sometimes looking good came with a side order of suffering.
Techwear has been the antidote to that antiquated school of thought. Approaching high-performance, technical, utilitarian clothing from a style-driven standpoint, the brands and designers behind the movement showed the world that fashion and function didn’t have to cancel each other out. In fact, they could elevate one another. Once designers caught up, it wasn’t long before we were seeing Arc’teryx shells being paraded down the runway by Virgil Abloh,