Techwear couture has landed in Paris The running rain jacket has gone chic

In Europe and around the world, summers are getting hotter and hotter. It is therefore only natural that the first temptation is to wear as little as possible when the sun is beating down. And yet this has not stopped numerous brands that have shown in Paris over recent days from incorporating technical rain jackets or versions of technical jackets in lacquered cottons or even leather into their summer collections, grafted onto decidedly more tailoring-oriented DNA.

The greatest attention was undoubtedly captured by Rick Owens, who in his show yesterday at the Palais de Tokyo presented a series of self-climatising, grotesquely puffed-up jackets produced in collaboration with adidas. But in reality, the poetic Dries Van Noten also made extensive use of synthetic, ultra-lightweight parkas in his own show. More cerebral in approach, Prada brought to its Milan show a Type-3 jacket — normally made in denim — rendered in nylon, while at his menswear debut at Pitti, Simone Rocha included an impalpable cropped nylon bomber among his aprons and laces. 

A New Element of Layering

If we wish to analyse the use that various brands with differing intentions have made of the classic technical silhouette, we can identify two common elements. The very first actually emerged with the release of Balenciaga's Resort 2027 lookbook — perhaps Pierpaolo Piccioli's most well-received collection for the house so far. The intention there was to create a commercial wardrobe, sportswear-inflected, that would reproduce the volumes and constructions of the house's archival couture. The result was a series of technical pieces with a highly sophisticated appearance — in terms of materials, volumes and colours — that are perhaps uniquely capable of bringing a certain degree of elevation to the rather tired repertoire of the classic track jacket.

The second purpose for which this techwear couture was employed concerned layering — that is, the relationship these pieces have with the rest of an outfit. In this case, Dries Van Noten and Saint Laurent both paired the dry texture, vivid colours and supple, functional design of these garments with more traditional tailored silhouettes: in the former, we saw, among many examples, a printed summer mac worn over a blazer; in the latter, three rain jackets were worn almost as shirts, tucked into tailored trousers.

These are interesting elements because they possess an unexpected expressive range: the variety of colourways, finishes, construction possibilities and styling options is remarkably versatile. But the most important element is the extremely slim volume of these pieces and their semi-transparency, which makes them a kind of new and unexpected component to place within the construction of a look. Not least is the point concerning the commercial appeal of these garments, which are normally highly practical but aesthetically unremarkable, and which are now, more or less literally, getting a makeover. And yet this trend also speaks to a larger movement taking place in the market.

Life on the Run

As BoF reports, many activewear brands are organising events, presentations and even runs in Paris over the coming days. These range in size from On and Hoka to smaller brands such as Satisfy, District Vision, Represent, Optimistic Runners, Ciele Athletics and Homerun. Many of these appointments involve hands-on experiences, press "test runs", run clubs and physical activity sessions. Obviously, when they were scheduled months ago, no one anticipated just how hot it would be. But that is another story.

The important point is that in recent years the world of running, physical activity and so-called activewear (consider what a giant Alo has become) has exploded. Years ago, Jonathan Anderson's Loewe had already sensed this, collaborating with On on a luxury sportswear collection. But across Europe, more or less public run clubs are flourishing: in Milan, in recent months, the Katal Training "squad" has grown in popularity, being highly Instagram-friendly thanks to its perpetually shirtless model members; but almost every city — London and Paris especially — has its own run clubs, which have today become a subtle yet powerful marketing tool.

Right in Paris, the Marais Run Club, which works with On, describes itself as «welcoming but exclusive» — almost signalling the cliquey nature these initiatives have begun to take on: like all monetisable lifestyles, running too can become a method of self-branding. A club, in every sense. According to a study published last year by the British group Redtorch, 73% of the visibility of running-related brands remains brand-driven rather than product-driven — meaning the attention these brands receive on social media, in the press and in online searches derives not so much from technical features or performance, but from the brand name and image itself.

And so, given how the segment's popularity is expanding (according to Grand View Research, the global market could grow to as much as $920 billion over the next ten years), it is only natural that not only will these styles increasingly be incorporated into the rest of our looks — as Ralph Lauren perhaps prophesied in his Milan show — but also that brands have grasped how, since the sale of these products is driven more by image than by technical performance per se, techwear too can be elevated to couture.