Hiking boots in the city used to mean you were either lost or making a statement. Now it just means you’re on trend. Berlin Mitte, London, Paris have things in common: matcha in one hand, alpine soles on your feet. Luxury brands do it. Arket does it. Everyone suddenly discovered mountains without ever leaving asphalt.
It’s not new. It’s familiar. Ski goggles in cafés. Technical jackets in taxis. Trail shoes on polished concrete. We borrow from places where function actually mattered and drop it into places where it mostly doesn’t. That’s contemporary fashion in a nutshell.
And that’s fine. Let’s be honest. We’ve always done it. Workwear didn’t disappear; it invaded. Sneakers escaped sports. Military garments retired into everyday life. Nothing here is pure invention.
Fashion rarely innovates anymore. It observes, mimics, translates. It takes something designed for a real need and places it in a new context. Maisons aren’t inventors. They’re editors, sometimes good ones, sometimes lazy.
Real innovation happens in niches, where problems are real. Fashion just shows up later, cleans it up, and sells it back to us. Preferably with a good story.