Since 2022, ISPO and Highsnobiety’s 520M platform has mapped the evolving and intertwined landscape of performance, fashion, and culture. Together, these explorations have helped elucidate how culture continues to push, pull, and carve out what the outdoors represents to us.
For ISPO's final Munich edition, before it heads to Amsterdam next year, the 520M partnership turned its attention toward our cities to unpack the theme of "The Urban Outdoors." At a moment when the outdoors represents something different for everyone, the truth for thousands living in global cities is shifting: the outdoors isn’t as far away as we once thought. It exists in the spaces between work and home, in the routes we take, and in the communities we build along the way. As Lea Boehner, Footwear Designer at On, puts it, “I see the outdoors as a spectrum, rather than a destination. It starts the moment you step out the door.”
The outdoors is ours to define, and that definition has shifted in recent years as new communities rethink what it means to engage with nature in the city. Finding green space right at their doorstep, these groups are bringing fresh energy to birdwatching, running, cycling, and movement in general. Through it, they find a shared connection that counteracts a lifestyle shaped by repetitive commutes, online contact, and an unhealthy amount of doomscrolling.
Still, real-world factors such as careers, access, and knowledge create barriers for people in cities who want to feel more connected to the outdoors. The response is direct. Bring the outdoors closer. As run clubs and cycling collectives continue to grow, the definition of the outdoors has broadened for a much wider audience. It no longer relies on multi-day hikes or remote excursions. Zaineb Abelque, co-founder of Athene Club, puts it clearly, “Walking is enough. You don’t have to climb mountains.” In a city setting, that mindset has only proliferated, encouraging people to claim space, move with intention, and bring a sense of exploration into everyday routines.
At the same time, something culturally specific is unfolding. In these city-based communities, style holds almost as much meaning as performance. Gear communicates identity and belonging as clearly as it communicates function. What you wear says as much about where you are going as it does about who you are. “The outdoors has never been this exciting from an apparel perspective. Creativity as well as innovation are the driving forces for how we express and define ourselves," shares Ollie Olanipekun, Founder of Flock Together and OpenAREA. "Attitudes are aligning from the boardrooms to the newly launched outdoors club.”
520M 2025 dove deeper into this movement through a program of panels, workshops, and Q&As. Industry leaders shared their perspectives on the democratization of the outdoors and the ways the modern city has become a new kind of terrain for exploration. This year also highlighted the creators and innovators driving culture, creativity, and tech-forward product design, including Merrell and Bosideng alongside Icebreaker, On, Peak Performance, KEEN, Karma8a, Dolomite 1897, Campagnolo, Manors Golf Apparel, AlpineStandards, ROA, Canyon, and Napapijri.
Learn more about 520M.
