admin Graceful gorpcore might sound like an oxymoron, but it’s exactly what Yukiko Oda and Hideake Yoshihara make. Seasoned pros at blending the utilitarian and grounded with the floaty and feminine, the couple stuck to the script this season and drew on their love for the great outdoors.
There was a particular focus on trail running, something that Oda and Yoshihara have been enjoying recently along with paddle-boarding and canoeing. They translated this onto the clothes in both practical ways (fabrics used included a lightweight water-resistant PERTEX and Taslan twill, a kind of high-tech nylon) and more aesthetic ones, such as the topography map print that rippled across billowy trench coats and sheer jumpsuits. The aerial contour lines on some of the black and beige looks turned out to be taken from the mountains of Kiryu, Oda’s hometown in Gunma prefecture, a nice insight into how the designers draw literally from the land.
They also teamed up with The North Face—a longtime Hyke collaborator—on a few trail running staples. A standout from the union were the stylish sack vests, something that could prove useful whether climbing mountains or schlepping to the office. “Oftentimes trail running jackets have stuff all over the back, and we wanted to avoid that,” said Oda. They cleverly took any fuss away in favor of a vented back to keep the wearer cool, and added enough pocket space for two water bottles, a detail of which Oda seemed especially proud.
There was particular power in the movement of the clothes on the body. Billowing pants and swishy mesh dresses complemented each step, while the puff-sleeved denim jackets and tight-topped strapless jumpsuits—made from a double-faced polyester wool—brought dimension that felt both sturdy and elegant. They were clothes made for feeling comfortable while walking, and looking great while doing so.
Hyke is very consistent—you might say it sits just on the right side of predictable—but the designers never seem to run out of fresh ideas for how to make a technical fabric feel elegant, or finding an innovative new place to hide a water bottle. Oda credited that to the Japanese countryside, which she’s itching to get back to. “When this season finishes and the market’s over, we’re really just looking forward to going back into nature again,” she said. “Maybe I’ll find some new mountains to climb.”
