Decoy

Arc’teryx has released its new Dekoi Jacket, a deer skin-inspired nylon waterproof hardshell the Canadian outdoor apparel and equipment company describes as “rooted in tradition, ceremony, and connection to the land.”

The jacket’s name is a variation of the word “decoy,” a reference to the jacket’s deer-fur-like GORE-TEX print. It’s the latest release in the brand’s Walk Gently collection. Which honors traditions of the indigenous Coast Salish people of Vancouver, B.C. and the surrounding area.

High-vis orange patterning cut and sewn into the fabric blends Salish motifs with the visibility a wearer would need for land-based harvesting in winter conditions, according to designer and Walk Gently founder Cole Sparrow-Crawford. The result is a blend of Arc’teryx technical DNA with Coast Salish perspective.

At Gear Patrol, Jeff Turbett describes the new jacket as a heritage reference in a “totally different expression.”

Instead of traditional motifs, it uses a completely modern build and construction through its gray-and-orange fabric.

This makes the jacket stand out from the leather, wool, and waxed cotton of more typical heritage outerwear offerings. With one recent example being Filson’s somewhat ostentatiously overbuilt Lined Mackinaw Wool Packer Coat, a reference to its 1914 Mackinaw Wool Cruiser. Featuring green-and-brown plaid and a brown shearling collar.

Which seems to suggest something of a unique position for Arc’teryx with this new release in terms of its brand strategy as it navigates massive mainstream expansion and urban adoption.

With the Dekoi, Arc’teryx is saying that heritage doesn’t have to mean backward-looking materials.

It also expands the high-end apparel maker’s definition of “performance.” Historically, Arc’teryx defined it through extreme alpine environments and scenarios, including mountaineering, ice climbing, and harsh elevation.

Through the Walk Gently collection, they’re moving to expand this definition to include land-based harvesting, indigenous stewardship, and cultural ceremony.

All without losing an ounce of their high-tech DNA.