Fashion has long appeared to the sports world as an influence (see remaining 12 months’ Chanel Coco Neige collection inspired through winter sports activities and Prada’s technical Linea Rossa line), and but recreation, too, has discovered a muse in the world of excessive layout, growing portions that look appropriate at a pleasing eating place submit-workout without sacrificing technicality.
In the identical vein, some luxurious designers have determined to straddle the road among the worlds of fashion and characteristics, partnering with energetic brands to collaborate on complete collections, à la Adidas through Stella McCartney and Derek Lam for Athleta.
While those worlds regularly collide, there’s no location they do extra seamlessly than Aspen, a metropolis dominated using identical elements of sports activities and glamour.
During Aspen’s summer season months, locals and travelers alike may additionally hike their way to the summit of Aspen Mountain at eleven,212 ft after which at once head to lunch at the deck of Ajax Tavern, observed by a motorbike ride to an afternoon lecture on the Aspen Institute and a nighttime live performance at the Benedict Must Tent.
A actual Aspenite knows one’s cloth cabinet has to be nimble sufficient to paintings for all of these sports because a jam-packed day within the mountains may also depart no time for a cloth cabinet trade.
“One of the greatest matters approximately Aspen is that no one thinks it’s extraordinary to come off the mountain in ski gear and head instantly to a cocktail party or roll immediately out of your experience up Maroon Bells to your cycling package to the Sunday afternoon track tent,” says neighborhood Sue Hostetler, who serves as Editor-in-Chief of Art Basel Magazine. “Aspenites are multitaskers, and that extends to our style as nicely.”
May Selby, director of public family members and social media for The Little Nell and nearby social columnist, consents the Aspen aesthetic revolves around what works for you, your pastimes, and your lifestyle. “It’s all about tailoring and having the proper patterns that match your body — whether or not for paintings, working out, or play,” says Selby. “When an exercise outfit or strong athletic suits well, you bring yourself with greater self-belief and embody being energetic. I love manufacturers like Stella McCartney for Adidas, AETHER Apparel, Tory Sport, and Sweaty Betty for sporty styles that add in something a bit greater fashionable.”
With the quantity of activities Aspen packs into summertime, it’s no marvel the ones of us who spend time or stay right here want a versatile closet. The mountains provide many sports in the hotter months, from trekking and mountain and road cycling to kayaking, mountain climbing, fly-fishing, golfing, and tennis.
Meanwhile, the cultural offerings are endless, from the Aspen Music Festival and School’s classical concerts and Aspen Summer Words creator lectures to the speakers at The Aspen Institute, dance performances care of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and top acts taking the Jazz Aspen Snowmass degree. And that doesn’t even cover the entirety an Aspen summertime gives. “A complete Aspen day can encompass an out of doors journey and a cultural occasion — or much more likely 3,” says Selby. “When a town has a footprint as petite as Aspen’s, however, the number of factors to do endless, doing all of it is possible — it just takes a little pre-making plan.”
For Hostetler, it’s approximately choosing her key fashion portions accurately and along with her busy lifestyle in thoughts. “I love all of Performance Ski’s gear because it works both on and off the mountain,” she says. “I’m a fan of their cashmere sweaters with removable fur collars and crocheted fur vests, in addition to Dsquared’s flannel shirts, due to the fact I can ski or hike in them after which wear them to dinner at Cache Cache—overall ski wear meets the streets. The equal is going for most of the clothes at Moncler. I’ll wear considered one of their light-weight, padded jackets to hiking for the day and then throw it over my shoulders to sit down outdoor for dinner at the Creperie at night time.”
Thankfully, as much as high fashion labels turn to the sport as a concept, technical-put on traces have also started to raise their designs. Brands that, when handiest targeted on function — making sure you may circulate in yoga, stay warm on a hike, or dry on a motorbike experience — are now making pieces so fashionable they paintings a long way beyond the health club or outdoor tour.
To wit, the upward thrust of athleisure has made the legging an announcement staple in most ladies’ everyday wardrobes, and the sweatpants have emerged as a suitable out-on-the-city backside in men’s style.
Locally, Lululemon, Moncler, Sweaty Betty, and AETHER all blur the line among fashion and characteristic, and boutiques which include O2 Aspen, Performance Ski and Pitkin County Dry Goods carry collections that without difficulty go from barre magnificence to the bar. “The marriage of style and sport is everywhere — it’s on the streets of New York and LA, on the runways and genuinely throughout Aspen,” says Hostetler. “Aspenites take their skiing, trekking, cycling, golfing, tennis, yoga and fly-fishing very critically, so it was only a matter of time earlier than their style picks contemplated that.”
