And Wander co-founder Mr Keita Ikeuchi on his design inspirations.

Fashion and outdoor gear generally sit at opposing ends of the style spectrum. Birdwatchers and ramblers might have their own sartorial codes of Gore-Tex boots and outback hats, but a style-conscious man would probably not thank you for a gift card from Millets for Christmas. Especially when an increasing number of designers are putting out great outdoorsy clothing – think chunky Vibram soles from ROA, fleeces from YMC and camouflage backpacks by Valentino.

There are brands, however, that have been nailing genuinely stylish outdoor lifestyle gear for a while without having to jump on the brandwagon (and we don’t just mean Patagonia). There is also And Wander, a Japanese label founded by Mr Keita Ikeuchi and Ms Mihoko Mori in 2011, which makes streetwise mountaineering gear that also looks the part in the city. The designers, who both worked under Mr Issey Miyake before they launched And Wander, are from a different kind of Tokyo subculture: one that dwells in the city but has a thing for the great outdoors. “We get our inspiration and ideas for the designs and their functions by playing outdoors,” explains Mr Ikeuchi. “The company is composed of people like myself, who love playing with nature through activities such as hiking, bouldering and camping. So when we’re designing, we gather opinions from people who do activities like that to see what works, or by seeing what we can improve through actually trying out the material samples ourselves.”

The studio’s work with tech-minded fabrics is a big part of what makes it different, and it’s perhaps easy to see the Miyake influence there. “We’re always attempting to work with and invent new materials, but also seek to work with factories that are capable of working with innovative techniques.” For the AW18 collections, for instance, they printed a reflector with glass beads ingrained into the fabric: “I found out that it looked very fascinating and interesting when a reflection of light hit on a section of the garment surface. So we combined reflector planes on the garment with the ‘reflector stitch’ that we developed, which is also unique.” You can see that reflector stitch woven into the brand’s shirt jacket, which is crafted from Cordura, a sturdy fabric usually used for luggage.

And Wander garments are all made in Japan and designed in Mr Ikeuchi’s studio, close to Tokyo’s Shibuya district. “Our offices and shops are located in the areas that take around a 15-minute bike ride from the built-up areas in Harajuku and Aoyama. There are a lot of outdoorsy shops and ‘select shops’ [boutiques] around there,” he says, explaining that beyond the fabrics, the inspiration for the style of the clothing comes from how people dress in those areas of Tokyo: “There are a lot of people with a high sense of style around here, which allows us to see changes stemming from current trends [and adapt them to our designs].” Taken as it is from the streets of Tokyo’s fashion district, And Wander is distinctly Japanese in its look – innovative and practical, but also quite cool, somewhere between a normcore dad and a Harajuku hypebeast.

Still, good clothes for Mr Ikeuchi are invariably rooted in the pragmatic – the fact that they look great is a bonus. “We make practical clothing that confronts the natural environment, so has a lot of benefits – stuff that’s water-repellent, windproof, heat-insulating, quick-drying and lightweight. I have always sought to create something new that fuses outdoor wear and fashion.” It’s an approach that the brand has always taken, regardless of the season – or the weather.

Shop the And Wander collection here