Following Nepenthes’ lead, Japanese outdoorists Snow Peak are setting up shop in London. Over on their spanking new UK webstore, they’re calling it the, “ultimate Snow Peak outpost in Europe”. Expect it “soon” at 16A Regent Street – which sounds pretty grand. Bricks ’n’ mortar aside, the webstore itself is already pretty interesting.
You might be familiar with the brand from Oi Polloi’s long-standing support, or perhaps the camping equipment at Goodhood. As you’d expect, there’s a broader array of products on their site – everything from branded dog collars to heavy duty nylon parkas.
It’s possible that, for a certain kind of menswearist, a Regent Street address will take the sheen off the brand. I mean, the only people who shop in Regent Street are chain store lemmings and tourists. And if the products become too available, too easy to swag, it kind of takes the fun out of being an intolerable snob.
Nevertheless, Snow Peak make some desirable goods. Personally, I have no desire to sit in a field cooking a sausage over a miniature stove, no matter how stylishly rendered in rose gold stainless steel it is. But this Noragi Jacket is definitely now on my radar.
Featuring a mix of navy cotton (heavy cotton by the look of it) and ripstop, it’s clearly collarless, boasts three chunky-looking patch pockets and giant gleaming white buttons that are almost certainly visible from space. At a non-trivial £339, it’s a commitment. But I could see this piece getting mad-regular rotation. It’s just the kind of elevated basic everyone needs access to. When teamed with all-navy, you’ll look arty and inscrutable. But it’ll also work as a sombre frame for a more foolhardy experiments with pattern and print. My only hang up right now is the sizing. On the site it appears to jump from medium to a combined large/extra large. What’s a large/extra large? I’ve emailed them to find out. They claim all inquiries will, “receive a response within 24 hours.” I’ll let you know if they’re true to their word.