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T
here certainly are recent cases in which fashion
trends, cultural crazes or mainstream move-
ments and fads have impacted outdoor par-
ticipation and product sales. The move toward
“Made in USA” and the related rise of “heri-
tage,” for example, was a boon to many outdoor brands, as
was the general yoga/fitness craze, which also undoubted-
ly encouraged some folks to take their workouts to the trail.
Likewise, the American mindset during the most recent
recession clearly pushed many folks toward camping as an
affordable vacation, or staycation, option.
So as we head into the summer recreation season, the
question we posed to several outdoor industry veterans,
experts and friends is whether or not the emergence of
an urban outdoorsy mentality and fashion conscious-
ness, lumped under the moniker “lumbersexual,” can be
leveraged to sell camping. In other words, can retailers
and brands – through the proper marketing, merchandis-
ing and assortment – entice lumbersexuals to try their
manicured hands at camping this spring and summer, and
hence buy camping product? How one answered these
questions depends a lot on whether one views the ongo-
ing trend as little more than a fashion statement and fad
or as representing something much deeper underneath
the beard and plaid.
If the urban woodsman sensibility is simply based solely or
mostly on the right “look” and coinciding brand labels, then
the prospects are pretty low that those Bespoke hatchets will
actually be chopping any campfire wood.
“One is a fashion trend; the other a long-established
form of recreation,” says Jeff Basford, president of Paha
Que. “It’s kind of
like a baseball bat manufacturer trying
to capitalize on a spike in ball cap sales.”
Indeed, it’s silly to expect the hippest of hipsters, or
those who view camping as “a hotel with no room service,”
to abandon their trendy urban lofts and studios for air-
mattresses on a dirt floor.
“Just because these guys have let the beard go rugged,
doesn’t mean they aren’t still obsessed with grooming.
Camping and the outdoors might be too dirty for this
Turning a fashiontrend into camping sales
By
Martin
Vilaboy
Inside
Outdoor
|
Spring
2015
16