Inside Arc’teryx’s Explosive Growth—and Its Quest to Keep Its Soul

In the years since, technical apparel has only become further entrenched in the collective fashion consciousness. Naturally, Arc’teryx has been positioned to lead this movement, and in recent years became the ultimate aspirational brand of the gorpcore wave, which turned hikers’ go-to trail snack “good old raisins and peanuts” into a buzzy fashion trend. Willingly or not, the company has found itself in a position similar to that of the North Face at the end of the ‘90s: in demand for its elite reputation, while also tempted to reach beyond the cliffs of the Canadian Rockies to unlock new market potential. Arc’teryx has already made some changes to its business in an effort to grow and sustain in the face of trend winds, but now, with shareholder interests to account for and a seemingly insatiable appetite for gorpcore, the brand may be approaching its most perilous peak.

It was early November when I traveled to Vancouver to investigate the “Fuck it, I’m buying Arc’teryx” factor that has allowed the brand to weather a gorpcore bonanza with its reputation for excellence intact. The confidential paperwork for Amer’s initial public offering had been filed just weeks before my visit. It was a fortuitous and very interesting time for me to take a peek behind the curtain at the Arc’teryx headquarters.

Karl Aaker, Arc’teryx’s vice president of brand marketing, is a former college basketball player, with a stature that causes him to stand out among a workforce that tends toward the diminutive, wiry build that suggests long hours at the rock climbing gym and weekends spent hanging from the side of a mountain. He took on his current role at the company in early 2021, after its new owners went on a hiring spree that privileged executive experience at Lululemon, Adidas, and Nike, where Aaker worked for five years. The shower TikTok videos, not exactly a scientific indicator of success, started early on in Aaker’s tenure, he told me, and took everyone at Arc’teryx by surprise, like a compliment so odd that it provokes self-reflection and self-consciousness.

“While we don’t design it for the shower,” Aaker said of the Alpha’s star turn on TikTok, “it can keep you dry in there.”