Gorpcore has its leaders. Thanks to a helping hand from Drake, Lil Yatchy, and the late Virgil Abloh, as well as the introduction of its System_A diffusion line, Arc'teryx has undoubtedly become the face of the trend.
Far more than a one-man band, however, there's plenty more to ingest should you wish to go hunting. Judging by its FW23 preview, ROA is ready to snatch the crown, leading a new era of Gorp that brings apparel and footwear into equilibrium.
Within the footwear medium, ROA is an undeniable staple of the outdoors. Where you might immediately look to Salomon for your trail sneakers, ROA's boots put in the miles to keep you firmly planted on both concrete and scree, peaking both stylistic and natural heights.
Its clean, at times bulky yet highly functional aesthetics, have seen it earn its merits, garnering ongoing collaborations with A-COLD-WALL while featuring on the feet of, you guessed it, Gorp Drake.
Once you've finessed footwear, what comes next? For ROA, it was a strong stride into apparel. Less of an experiment of more of a showcase of its innate understanding of the space it inhabits, the first ROA apparel collection was a taster for far greater things to come.
Thanks to ongoing previews of the brand's upcoming FW23 slate, it's painfully clear to see that ROA is not only stepping up its apparel offering but accelerating it to the point that it looks to become a real contender, or better yet, a leader in the space.
Alongside highly technical footwear, the apparel selection looks to expand its outwear selection significantly, as well as provide a far greater depth of pant options and accessories.
While its debut was concise, FW23 looks to deliver a huge knockout of the park, and we can't help but be excited for the future of ROA.
