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Patagonia Talks Spring Inspiration

Tom Handley
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It’s said that ‘March comes in like a lion, out like a lamb’, and no one understands that better than Patagonia. With 40 years under its belt, this company not only produces some of the most amazing clothing and accessories, but the employees live founder, Yvon Chouinard’s vision.

The Manual talked with John Rapp, from the Men’s Lifestyle Design Team at Patagonia and asked him a few questions.

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What was the inspiration behind spring 2014?

We traveled down to the southern Baja peninsula.  With it’s desolate deserts and significant mountains, large sand dunes, and stunning coastlines, there was such amazing inspiration.

What can you tell us about that trip?

We spent half of our trip camping, very lo-fi. Traveling down there with 40 trunks of product to test.  From our organic cottons and natural blends for comfort, to great synthetics for performance, everything sort of came together perfectly.

How did that trip have an effect on this collection?

This collection is a continuation of fall.  Our team is always out and about, living an active life, from bike, to trail, to work, The color story this season began with a sun-faded palette of brights.  Not weathered, or pre-warn, but a subtle natural point of view.

How do the elements mold the collection?

In general, the climate is dry with variable temps. Southern Baja is a very isolated slice of nature on a peninsula, and its proximity to the sea, maintains a certain degree of humidity, so the combination of fabrics, colors and textures, paired with being functional and pragmatic.

Check out the spring collection here.

Tom Handley
Tom Handley
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Tom Handley is a contributor for TheManual. As a professor of public relations and social media strategy at Parsons The New…
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