Nobody does the quarter-zip fleece quite like Rier. Since launching his brand in 2019, Andreas Steiner has built out a formidable wardrobe of luxury spins on true mountaineer clothes, inspired by his youth in the Alps. Think beautiful double-layer bonded leather longcoats and tailored corduroy trousers, technical windbreakers and collaborative Salomon tactical boots. 

Yet, nothing feels quite as “Rier” as the all-natural fleece castoro — so much so that it inspired a full New York Times trend piece in 2024.

With this much brand recognition built around its super-luxurious take on the classic hiker’s sweater, it shouldn’t come as such a surprise to see the fleece lead Rier’s Winter 2026 campaign. But there it was, freshly dyed in a shock of electric indigo blue and worn by a model who looked just as likely to be a sheepherder’s handsome son in a small mountain village as he did a wealthy, stylish Parisian galavanting around in a $930 sweater. 

These two scenarios are exactly the formula that makes Rier, well, Rier. Steiner may have built the brand around his childhood memories in the Italian Alps, but it’s the influence of his home base in Paris — fashion’s foremost capital city — that has transformed Rier into a formidable presence in the mid-luxury market after less than a decade in the game. 

With the FW26 campaign, officially inspired by “the bustling rhythm of Alpine markets,” per Rier’s Instagram, the Alpine roots are conceptually there. But, if we’re being honest, it feels less like an ode to a countryside farmer’s market and more like a visual diary of a rural homecoming by someone who’s made it big in the city (and rebuilt their wardrobe around high-end Rier pieces that cost more than a market worker’s monthly salary). 

The draw here isn’t in the concept, but the execution. Much of the top-level talent behind the scenes on this campaign has worked with Rier on its brand image over multiple seasons, including art director Clarke Rudick, fashion and image director Jerome Andre, and videographer Bianca Blanc-francard. 

Establishing long-term creative collaborations is a typical luxury technique, of course. Prada has worked with Rem Koolhaas’ OMA / AMO architecture firm on its runway sets for over 20 years, Demna has had husband Loïk Gomez produce music for runway shows since 2017, and stylist Charlotte Collet has become the secret talent sharpening the visual language for brands like AURALEE, Jil Sander, and Babaà. 

Part of Rier’s success can be attributed to its great fleece pieces, sure, but product only goes so far without good packaging. If its Alpine market-inspired FW26 campaign proves anything, it’s that to truly succeed in business, you need to sell the fantasy. 

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