The Indie Brands Inspiring New Yorkers To Explore the Great Outdoors

From a jacket emulating a beetle’s shell to a hiking backpack that takes seven hours to sew by hand, indie outdoors brands based in New York City are blazing a trail of their own with thoughtful, inventive wares that toe the line between rugged and refined. Labels like William Ellery, FSP Outdoors and allmansright are tasked with designing gear that functions as well on the subway as on the side of a mountain.

At the same time, they have to appeal to the aesthetic standard that consumers have begun to appreciate (or maybe even expect) in their gear. And as nature lovers demand gear that they feel truly represents them from the brands they frequent, not just, these buzzy labels are blurring the line between customer and community member; inviting buyers on hikes, dishing on their design processes and championing transparency and environmental responsibility.

Operating a Brand out of New York

Trevor Davis runs William Ellery out of a studio in East Williamsburg and offers a wide-ranging assortment of apparel and accessories centered on the concept of “boyhood sentimentality.” Meanwhile, Blair Kemp of FSP Outdoors creates durable, hand-sewn fanny packs, backpacks, rucksacks and chalk bags from his Bushwick abode. Bronx-based allmansright, helmed by husband-wife duo Livio Melo and Jennifer Jacobsson, specializes in ultralight gear constructed out of sustainable, waterproof materials.

While all of the aforementioned brands would probably cringe at being lumped in with “gorpcore” — a term that has morphed into a lazy catch-all for any and all outdoor-adjacent goods — the foundation on which the movement was based endures. High-achieving technical specs don’t mean one has to sacrifice visual appeal. But unlike the mass-produced offerings of the brands that defined the gorpcore movement, these indie labels defy the normative ideals of what gear should look like by experimenting with concepts and designs, emphasizing transparency in their production practices and building loyal communities.

For William Ellery, FSP Outdoors and allmansright, New York, a city with seemingly under-utilized access to the diverse natural landscapes that surround it, is a fitting homebase. Davis, who grew up in Tennessee, says that people often assume New York is more removed from the natural world than it actually is but that it’s inherently “a very outdoorsy city.”

“I've lived in Washington State and Oregon but you need a car there. In New York, you can go to some of the world's best parks or be climbing Bear Mountain or surfing at Rockaway Beach within an hour or two by train, and that’s something many people in rural places can’t do,” Davis says. “The UN Headquarters is also based here, which is where some of the most important issues in climate change are discussed.”

The founder notes that the seeds for his brand were subconsciously planted during his adolescent years, when there wasn’t much to do but explore the outdoors. In adulthood, Davis clocked a decade working as a fine dining chef, furthering his appreciation for nature through a craft centered on what foragable ingredients were in season. After his time in the kitchen, Davis spent the better part of a decade as a designer at a luxury menswear brand, a duo of experiences that laid the foundation for William Ellery’s experimentation-driven ethos.

He describes William Ellery’s sprawling fleet of products as “expedition gear,” goods that can be used across a spectrum of environments and draw from influences as wide-ranging as Jacques Cousteau and Jane Goodall. An iridescent jacket called the JuneBug ranks among Davis’ most innovative creations, featuring a shimmering bug-repellant shell inspired by a study that shows how beetles use their iridescent carapace to evade predators.

To Davis, an avid consumer of scientific studies, the jacket is a research project of its own, and the William Ellery customer is a “research participant” whose purchases serve to fund some of the brand’s more experimental gear. In turn, customers often provide him with direct feedback, and he frequently adjusts products based on their recommendations. He also publishes a “Scientific Research” catalog of writing and photos documenting the stages of developing a given piece of gear and demonstrating how the garment can function across a spectrum of environments.

Designing for the New York Consumer

Living in New York has also pushed Davis to approach designs as both multifunctional and aesthetically appealing, keeping in mind that apartments are small and people can (realistically) only fit so much gear into their closet.

“As a New Yorker, we all have small apartments and have to live among all of our things. If I think of my surfboard in my apartment and you do the math on the space it takes up, I probably pay two dollars a month in rent for that surfboard,” Davis says. “I want these garments to be beautiful and able to be integrated into multiple areas of my life.”

Most New Yorkers get around via public transportation, so bags need to withstand a 45-minute subway ride without leaving their wearer with sore shoulders, back sweats or many other commuter problems. Blair Kemp of FSP Outdoors similarly revisits and revises the designs for his fanny packs, backpacks, rucksacks and chalk bags in a constant pursuit of the lightest and most durable model. All of the packs are handsewn by Kemp in his airy Bushwick studio, and each bag on his website is accompanied by a lengthy text block diving into specific amendments that have been made to its current version. For example, the latest iteration of FSP’s popular Lumbar Pack has received a second strap for a more secure fit, a reflective swatch for night visibility and upgrades to its cord and zipper. Buyers are also told how long each item takes to make, from cutting fabric to sewing the final stitch (for the record, the Lumbar Pack took two and a half hours, while the Asym 40 Roll Top, a modern hiking backpack Kemp has been working developing “on and off for years,” entails six and half hours of sew time).

Sustainable Production Practices

Along with the style conscious, the environmentally aware customer may gravitate toward indie brands for their ethical production practices, such as using sustainable and recycled materials to minimize waste. With a focus on making access to the outdoors more equitable, allmansright is named after the Swedish tradition of “allemansrätt,” the right for everyone to freely explore their surroundings.

The bulk of the Bronx-based brand’s flagship bags are made out of Dyneema, a highly durable non-woven material used in boat sails and body armor. 2% of proceeds from allmansright go to nonprofits dedicated to protecting the environment and diversifying the outdoors, and a list of donations is publicly available on the brand’s website. Founders Melo and Jacobsson also create bespoke orders, collaborating with customers to make a 1:1 pack.

The intimate, hands-on approaches of William Ellery, FSP Outdoors and allmansright differentiate the brands from big box retailers – a culture of redesigning and tweaking and offering customers an inside look at that process. Designs evolving over time are integral to their brand identity and they peel back the curtain on the evolution as well instead of simply showing the finished result. These brands also produce in extremely limited-batch runs, so owning a piece from them feels particularly unique.

Cultivating an Inclusive Community

Gear is just the beginning of connecting with the outdoors: though it’s a vessel to build excitement and an aesthetic feel, these small brands use it as a gateway to an outdoor lifestyle,. Non-profit organizations like TriState Hikers, Black Surfing Rockaway and Camping to Connect lead everything from group hikes and trail runs to camping trips and surf sessions. The Crown Heights gear store Outlandish boasts a selection of local brands, including William Ellery and allmansright, and hosts bi-weekly hiking trips to different trails upstate. Co-founder Benje Williams says it’s a common misconception that New York has less nature to offer than other parts of the country, pointing out that “New York State has twice as much forest coverage as in California. There’s around 60% forest coverage in New York, compared to only 30% in California.”

Williams and his Outlandish co-founder Ken Bernard aim to provide an outdoors-focused community to people of color. Williams recalls going on his first backpacking trip in 2021 with his father in Sequoia National Park and only seeing two other hikers of color during the four-day expedition, an experience that inspired him to build a community in New York.

Bernard says that the goal of Outlandish is to operate as “more like a community hub, a space where you could get educated on gear and then gear up to get out with us on the trail if you needed to.”

“We believe people of color especially had a relationship with nature for a long time. And then, with the Great Migration and leaving the South, a lot of that relationship got complicated and in a way, broken off,” Williams adds. “And so for me, at least, and I see this with people who come on our hikes, there's a feeling of returning.”

Outlandish’s excursions aim to take the intimidation factor out of outdoors exploration and having the “right gear,” instead leading with a “come as you are” ethos and simply informing its customers about their gear choices. The store also frequently collaborates on events with TriState Hikers, a non-profit dedicated to providing those with limited financial means the opportunity to get out of the city and into nature. A testament to their popularity, most hikes are completely booked within 24 hours of their announcement.

One of the brands Outlandish stocks, Hikerkind, was founded out of fashion industry veterans Chelsea Rizzo and Allison Levy’s frustration with the lack of stylish womenswear for the outdoors. The Brooklyn brand aims to get more women out on the trail with a women-led hiking club that meets in cities across the US, with chapters in New York, Austin, Denver, Portland and Southern California.

Rizzo says “brands have a significant role in shaping the culture of outdoor recreation and can be instrumental in making these spaces more inclusive,” noting that in addition to events, many labels use their platform to provide resources for beginners, focus on outreach to underrepresented populations and are simply there to answer questions about what gear is best suited for a given outdoor endeavor.

As the outdoors beckons, New Yorkers (and cities everywhere) are answering the call. Kemp says that most of FSP Outdoors’ sales are in major cities and the small towns surrounding them. Naturally, an FSP Outdoor backpack may be pricier than its Patagonia counterpart but the hands-on craftsmanship is apparent, a quality that resonates with consumers that want to invest in gear that’ll last them for years to come. Kemp offers his customers a lifetime guarantee of fixes: simply mail a ripped or damaged bag to him, and he’ll repair it for free.

In a landscape saturated with corporate logos, wearing indie outdoors labels has become a status signifier in itself – a marker that one is “tapped in” to wear a brand that few others own, or even know about. Rather than leaning into the elitism that’s seemingly inherent to luxury and streetwear culture, William Ellery, FSP Outdoors and allmansright, as well as Hikerkind and Outlandish, are on a mission to welcome all into the great outdoors, regardless of how outdoorsy one may consider themself.

“My dream is to build things that deserve to be in this world for a long time,” Kemp says. “Something that can help people get into nature and build memories.”

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