{"id":59509,"date":"2026-07-16T23:34:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/59509\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T23:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:34:29","slug":"snow-peak-japanese-outdoor-brand-leads-urban-fashion-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/59509\/","title":{"rendered":"Snow Peak: Japanese outdoor brand leads urban fashion shift"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we sink into canvas camp chairs erected around a low collapsible table, Lisa Yamai, the executive vice-president of Japanese brand Snow Peak, explains why urbanites should get out more. \u201cPeople living in big cities need to be healed by nature,\u201d says Yamai, 31, who wears a black V-neck fleece and chunky jewellery. \u201cI\u2019m based in Tokyo so I\u2019m feeling time-pressed and stressed. Then I go camping on the weekend, without tech or social media, and just feel nature. Camping is totally primitive: you build your tent, make a fire, cook, drink, sing, have conversations.\u201d While she talks, we sip hot coffee from sturdy aluminium cups. Beside us are fragrant flowers and a grill loaded with kindling.<\/p>\n

But the coffee is courtesy of trendy London roastery Workshop, the flowers are in a vase and the chairs rest not on foliage but varnished wood. Our little campsite is in the middle of the new Snow Peak shop in central London. A gleaming three-storey outpost, it contains a caf\u00e9, repairs room, racks of puffa jackets and rows of tents. There are also shelves piled with things you never knew existed but now must have: collapsible chopsticks; micro cast-iron cooking pots; and a fire-resistant multi-pocket takibi waistcoat that resembles a fishing vest.<\/p>\n

The shop is illustrative of the direction that the fashion industry has been moving in lately. In recent years consumers have become increasingly interested in high-performance gear and their gaze has begun to shift beyond yoga studios and up to the mountains. Hipsters don North Face fleeces, there\u2019s been a surge in new outdoor brands rooted in style and luxury houses have swapped high heels for hiking boots.<\/p>\n

In their ensembles, if not necessarily lifestyles, city slickers are embracing nature like never before. And as one of the coolest purveyors of mountain-ready clothes and camping gear, Snow Peak is reaping the rewards: the historic company now has 26 shops in Japan, three in South Korea, two in the US (New York and Portland), two in Taiwan and one in London. In 2018 it amassed \u20ac100m in revenue. It\u2019s growing at a pace more akin to a trail-run than a hike.<\/p>\n

This is not to say that Snow Peak is merely jumping on a trend. The family-run brand \u2013 which employs 500 staff globally and manufactures in Japan, China and Vietnam \u2013 was started by Lisa\u2019s grandfather Yukio Yamai in 1958. A keen rock-climber, Yukio capitalised on the metalworks expertise in his hometown of Sanjo in Niigata (where the brand is still headquartered) and began making specialist climbing kit.<\/p>\n

\"SnowSnow Peak\u2019s new shop in central London<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Yamai<\/p>\n

\"SnowFR down coat<\/p>\n

\"DisplayCamping equipment makes up the majority of Snow Peak\u2019s sales<\/p>\n

\"SnowThe London shop\u2019s interior was designed by Takamasa Kikuchi, a Japan-born, London-based architect<\/p>\n

\"WoodenJapanese ceramics and loose-leaf teas<\/p>\n

\"KeiKei Saito, Snow Peak\u2019s UK director, wearing Snow Peak\u2019s \u2018takibi\u2019 vest<\/p>\n

\"2L2L Octa vest worn over Shijira Shirt<\/p>\n

\"SnowKanpai bottle, titanium mug and titanium spork<\/p>\n

\"BlackPro Air 2 tent<\/p>\n

\"StainlessField Barista coffee dripper<\/p>\n

\"Olive\u2018Takibi\u2019 vest worn over flexible insulated pullover<\/p>\n

Snow Peak remained niche until Tohru, Yukio\u2019s son and Lisa\u2019s father, branched out into mainstream camping goods in the 1980s. \u201cMy dad tried to make it more family-friendly,\u201d says Yamai. \u201cAt that time Japan was rapidly growing economically, so people in the city were very stressed and needed camping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamai\u2019s own impact on the brand has been profound, driving Snow Peak\u2019s foray into fashion. After studying design at Tokyo\u2019s Bunka Fashion College and working for various womenswear brands, Yamai decided she wanted to make \u201creal clothes, not clothes that are just gorgeous\u201d, she says. \u201cThey have to be functional in order to enhance your life in some way. I started thinking, \u2018Snow Peak is already doing that with camping products \u2013 let\u2019s do it for clothes too.\u2019\\\u201d In 2014 she launched a line of lovely unisex clothes in soft fabrics, including an insulated pullover (which has since been imitated by countless menswear brands) that feels as snug as a sleeping bag, wide-cut pleated wool\/nylon trousers, fleeces in earthy shades and hooded coats with floral prints. The look is more streamlined than the usual outdoor garb. The brand quickly picked up blue-chip fashion stockists including Browns and End in London, Totokaelo in New York and Mohawk General Store in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Clothing sales currently account for 20 per cent of Snow Peak\u2019s revenue, yet the fashion line has had an outsized impact on the brand \u2013 the catwalk front row is decidedly more glam than the camping community. \u201cAfter I started the line I realised that the fashion media has a really strong influence; that coverage has, unexpectedly, made us a bit more famous and visible,\u201d says Yamai. \u201cIn the UK especially, people have started to recognise our brand because of the apparel.\u201d Fashion has provided a glossy face for Snow Peak, enabling it to get a new type of shopper through the door.<\/p>\n

Yet camping, not fashion, remains at the heart of the brand and Yamai ultimately wants to get urbanites out of skyscrapers and into tents. \u201cOne jacket is the same price as a tent \u2013 you can buy one or the other. I want to let fashion people understand that buying a tent and living in nature is an enriching and fulfilling thing to do,\u201d she says. \u201cEventually we will start increasing the population who likes camping.\u201d<\/p>\n

She admits that converting westerners could be tricky. \u201cThe Japanese and European styles of camping are different. In Europe it\u2019s more like people are camping because they don\u2019t want to pay for a hotel. But in Japan it\u2019s more like a hobby, so it can be luxurious and high-end.\u201d There is an added cultural quirk, she says: \u201cJapan is such a hi-tech country; we have got everything. But Japanese people enjoy being deliberately inconvenienced \u2013 that\u2019s why we like camping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamai was recently promoted to executive vice-president of Snow Peak (her dad is the president) and now has a broad remit that involves \u201cjudging what project is for Snow Peak and what is not\u201d. Such ventures include shop openings, a burgeoning food-catering business that\u2019s being rolled out across the stores, and campsites and mobile homes. Next spring, Snow Peak will open a shop-cum-restaurant-cum-campsite designed by Kengo Kuma in the Japanese resort town of Hakuba. \u201cThere\u2019s a Japanese word i-shoku-ju, which is eat, sleep and wear. We want to offer these essential things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Snow Peak\u2019s greatest strength is in providing an all-encompassing brand that cultivates great loyalty. The company hosts 30 camping events every year in Japan, plus dozens in the US, South Korea and, soon, the UK. The biggest attract 3,000 campers; the Yamai family regularly participate. Meanwhile in its shops it holds workshops on how to erect tents and how to cook in the wild.<\/p>\n

Yamai speaks of a \u201ccommunity\u201d and the brand refers to its fans as Snow Peakers. The relationship feels like it\u2019s based on something more than transactions. Commentators often speak of the need for modern shops to provide \u201cexperiences\u201d but many retailers struggle to do this in a way that doesn\u2019t feel forced. At Snow Peak it seems logical.<\/p>\n

Yamai has grand ambitions. \u201cOur goal is to become the most creative company in the world,\u201d she says. \u201cSnow Peak can introduce not only products but also activities; through those we want to change people\u2019s lives, to heal people by reprioritising the power of nature.\u201d It sounds bold until you consider the good that comes from stepping away from Instagram feeds and city smog, and enjoying some fresh air. Perhaps, in time, more of us will choose a tent over a coat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we sink into canvas camp chairs erected around a low collapsible table, Lisa Yamai, the executive vice-president…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3256,38780,28053,8,17,17309,6383,38781,38782,38783,38784,38785,38786,38787],"class_list":["post-59509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-camping","tag-camping-gear","tag-fashion-industry","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-japanese-brands","tag-japanese-fashion","tag-lifestyle-brands","tag-lisa-yamai","tag-outdoor-fashion","tag-outdoor-gear","tag-outdoor-lifestyle","tag-outdoor-wear","tag-snow-peak"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}