Under the Radar: Purple Mountain Observatory
Under the Radar is Highsnobiety's interview series that hones in on young designers and emerging brands to give next-gen talent the platform it deserves.
It’s easy to become disillusioned when outerwear brands wax lyrical about nature being their primary source of inspiration — so often, it just feels like PR spiel. Yet when Purple Mountain Observatory cites the great outdoors as the main muse for its colorful collections, it feels refreshingly honest, partly because the inspiration is so obvious in the design..
Founded by Georgia Smith and Matt Braun in 2021 amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, Purple Mountain Observatory has gone from IYKYK London label to internationally-stocked clothing label in a little under three years.
Its collections, which are like a techy-looking mashup of Stone Island (in its eccentric appearance) and Arc’teryx (in its gorpcore build), draw on the harshest natural locales, like stark undersea landscapes, icy terrains, and unrelenting deserts.
These offbeat influences not only inspire the function inherent to Purple Mountain Observatory’s objectively great-looking products, but thanks to Braun’s nearly twenty-year experience with creating technical apparel, PMO is functionally sound, too.
And despite the amount of effort and expertise that goes into PMO’s clothing (six months per item, according to the founders), nothing the brand creates costs more than $300.
Its Heat Reactive Fishtail Jacket, for instance, which changes color according to the temperature, costs around $250, whereas a Stone Island equivalent would set you back almost four times as much.
Whereas most technical clothing brands are loathe to discuss price, Purple Mountain Observatory puts the number right up front. Its approachability is a point of pride, proof of its mission to make great-looking, hard-wearing clothes for everyone.
Highsnobiety: Let’s start from the beginning. How and why did Purple Mountain Observatory come about?
Matt Braun (PMO co-founder): Although the concept of Purple Mountain Observatory had always been floating about, it didn’t come to life until the COVID-19 pandemic. That felt like a real now or never moment for us.
Outdoors clothing was becoming something of a lethargic market in our opinion, and we noticed that while everyone was stuck indoors, they were looking outside.
Using our knowledge of functional design and love of the great outdoors we’ve been able to develop what we believe to be the new norm in outdoors performance wear. It’s clearly working too. In just three years we’re now stocked across the UK as well as in Japan, South Korea, France, Italy, and Switzerland.
What's the inspiration behind the brand?
Purple Mountain Observatory has always been about building a platform from our explorations and elevating outdoor experiences for our community. We look at our brand as more than just clothing, but a communal hub where individuals can converge, explore, and collectively contribute to our journey. Whether we are scrambling the Welsh peaks or scaling an extinct volcano, PMO is inspired by nature, landscapes, and the enjoyment we get from being in fresh air. We build product we want to wear, product we feel is missing [from the market], and, most importantly, product that does what we need it to do.
Tell us a little about your backgrounds.
We’re only a small team of five, but I think that’s a part of the beauty of PMO. It feels bigger than it actually is. Sam runs production and owns one of the best technical factories around. There isn't much they don’t know about the construction of a jacket, with a keen eye for detail and a collection of vintage jackets to match.
Before PMO, I [Matt] was working with some of the largest brands and retailers across the UK and the US. I’ve always been obsessed with living a life fulfilled by the outdoors and I’ve always had a true love for design, so starting a label like PMO was a natural merge.
Where does Purple Mountain Observatory fit into the current fashion landscape?
The landscape economically is tough for many people right now. We understand consumers have had to change their spending habits, which of course changes the future of retail with some of our most loved independent brands and stores closing. This in mind PMO was produced with design and functionality first but [also] with a close eye on affordability. Our aim is to create an exciting portfolio of high-quality products without an excessive price tag.
What's the goal with your brand?
We want to inspire and educate a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts [and become] the go-to outdoor brand for everyone.
