Arc'teryx is a Canadian apparel company specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It focuses on technical apparel for

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

and Alpine sports, including related accessories. The company's name and logo, created by graphic designer Michael Hofler, reference the ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

'', the

transitional fossil A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group. This is especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross ...

of early

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s to modern dinosaurs (

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

). Arc'teryx is known for its waterproof Gore-Tex shell jackets, knitwear, and down parkas. Founded in 1989 as Rock Solid, the company re-branded in 1991 as Arc'teryx to produce outerwear and climbing gear for the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

in Canada. The company was sold to

Salomon Group Salomon SAS is a French sports equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Annecy, France. It was founded in 1947 by François Salomon in the heart of the French Alps and is a major brand in outdoor sports equipment. Salomon is owned by ...

in 2001 and Amer Sports in 2005. Arc'teryx maintains two divisions: Veilance, their luxury streetwear retailer and LEAF, their retailer of technical gear for law enforcement and military forces. The company is a major influence in the " gorpcore" and " normcore" fashion movements, the wearing of minimalist, technical apparel in urban settings. The brand is colloquially known as "dead bird".

History

Originally named "Rock Solid" by co-founder Dave Lane, the company's first line of products was climbing gear. Dave Lane sold his 50% interest to Blair Murdoch and Tim Duholke who became silent partners in 1989. Then-principal and co-founder Jeremy Guard changed the company name to Arc'teryx in 1991. The name and logo reference the ''

'', the

of early

s to modern dinosaurs (

). Guard chose the name to represent the idea of accelerating

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

as characterized by the

geologic time scale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochro ...

of fossils. Guard was president and principal of the company from 1991 to 2001. Using a heat

laminate Simulated flight (using image stack created by μCT scanning) through the length of a knitting needle that consists of laminated wooden layers: the layers can be differentiated by the change of direction of the wood's vessels Shattered windshi ...

(thermolamination) technology, the partners designed and marketed the ''Vapor'' harness, which would become the company's most popular item. In 1993, after a series of relocations and staff additions, Arc'teryx released the ''Bora'' backpack using the same ''Vapor'' technology. In 1996, the company introduced technical apparel featuring Gore-Tex after obtaining licenses from W. L. Gore & Associates. Arc'teryx re-located its headquarters to

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 1999 and then to North Vancouver in 2005. In 2001, Arc'teryx was purchased by

, a French subsidiary of the German retailer

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

.Nowakowski, Natasha
''"Arc'teryx a perfect fit for adidas' Salomon business"''
The Portland Business Journal, November 8, 2002. In 2005, Arc'teryx was sold to Finnish retailer Amer Sports.Crane, Leah
''"Salomon Sold to Amer Sports"''
, Transworld Business Magazine, August 9, 2005 In 2019, Chinese retailer

Anta Sports Anta Sports Products Limited is a Chinese sports equipment multinational corporation headquartered in Jinjiang, Fujian, Jinjiang, China. It is the world's third-largest sportswear company by revenue, behind Nike, Inc., Nike and Adidas ahead of L ...

bought a controlling stake (56%) in Amer. As their apparel line expanded Arc'teryx began manufacturing in international markets, specifically in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the early 2020s, Arc'teryx has co-produced collections with high-fashion brands and designers which expanded their consumer market beyond outdoor enthusiasts.''''

Divisions

Their garments, accessories, and apparel is organized into various product families differentiated by the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...

, e.g. Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Rho, Sigma, and Zeta. * Veilance: their luxury formal streetwear line was founded in 2009, branded as Arc'teryx Veilance. * LEAF: their Law Enforcement and Armed Forces (LEAF) line is aimed at the military and police market.

Subculture

Arc'teryx is seen as a high-end

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part ...

among youth, "just shy of Stone Island and

Moncler Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Its core branding includes the Rooster#Terminology, cockerel, "M" monogram, felt appliqué badge, crossed skis and cartoon duc ...

." The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' noted one of their largest demographics as " urbanites" in 2022. Labeled a cult brand by ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' in 2021, Arc'teryx is worn by " othhikers and hype-beasts" according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. The company is a major influence in the " gorpcore" and " normcore" fashion movements – the wearing of minimalist, outdoor apparel in urban settings, along with

Mammut A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

, REI,

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

and

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Throughout 2022, a

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

trend emerged where individuals would shower, fully clothed with an Arc'teryx jacket, as British rapper YT's song "Arc'teryx" played in the background. Arc'teryx is a staple of

Generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...

and zillennial fashion, particularly in the U.S. and Canada. Luxury fashion houses that have minimalist aesthetics collaborate with Arc'teryx to produce capsule collections, according to ''The New York Times'' and ''GQ.''

References

External links

* {{Anta Sports 2010s fashion Camping equipment manufacturers Canadian companies established in 1989 Clothing brands of Canada Clothing companies established in 1989 Clothing companies of Canada Companies based in Vancouver Climbing and mountaineering equipment companies Outdoor clothing brands Retail companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in British Columbia de:Amer Sports#Arc'teryx

History

Divisions

Subculture

See also

References

External links