New For 2010: Camping Chic

Designers for high-fashion clothing line Dsquared2 turn gaiters and wool socks into catwalk couture.

Basic camping and hiking gear not living up to your notions of high fashion? Feeling frumpy in those multilength, zip-off pants? You shouldn't: Soon, everyone who's anyone will be copying your style, if the outdoor-inspired designs of ultrahot fashion house Dsquared2 are any indication.

While the North Face and Patagonia have made noble attempts at making the necessary boots, pants, and shells as hip and trendy as possible, Dsquared2 took the opposite tack. Rather than trying to stylize functional outerwear, their latest runway show featured a line of completely impractical outfits inspired by some sort of camping alternate reality. On Mars.

Dan and Dean Caten, the twin brothers behind the 2010 line of uber-chic, camping-inspired duds, claim the inspiration for the line came from their scouting days as youths in Canada. This is clearly visible in the oversized backpacks and scout inspired badges that adorn shirts and vests. This, of course, is just the men's line.

For the ladies? How about summiting a fourteener in a pair of neon-yellow, 6" stacked stilettos, complete with grippy cleats so you don't fall? Or better yet, slip into a sweet and sexy "hunting-vest orange" frock for after the trek? Don't forget to shade yourself from the sun with an ever-chic trucker hat, which just can't seem to die the ignominious death it deserves.

WWD described the line as "upbeat and playful," and thought it brought "pizzaz to the great outdoors." They do warn, though, that the the line is "not quite out of the woods on wearability." Here at BACKPACKER, we find these forays into fashion quite amusing, and, given enough liquid encouragement and a free sample, Associate Editor Shannon Davis might just try it. But for the non-Davis, we strongly recommend you not try to climb a mountain in 6" stilettos or a hot pink patent-leather mini skirt, no matter how rockin' it might just be.

Is the high-fashion world ready for backpacking? Let us know in the comments section below, darling.

--Jordan Olmsted and Ted Alvarez

Dsquared2 Men's RTW Spring 2010 (WWD) via GetOutdoors

Dsquared2 (New York Magazine)

Dsquared2