TORONTO — Just who belongs in the good outdoors?

Answering that query and redefining what it means for girls of all sizes to be fashionably and functionally “outdoorsy” has been Alder Apparel’s mission because the maker of outside recreation apparel was launched in Toronto in 2020.

“From Day One, we felt that this was a fashion conversation well price having,” said Mikayla Wujec, who cofounded the brand with fashion marketer and childhood friend Naomi Blackman.

United by their frustration with the outdoor clothing options then available to female consumers, this profession pivot for the fledgling fashion entrepreneurs got here about due to a flash of inspiration Wujec experienced while mountain climbing in Recent Zealand in 2017.

“I remember mountain climbing and considering back to all of the flights that I had boarded over time and all of the ugly, ill-fitting, style-less outdoor wear I needed to put up with to do my job. I knew my other colleagues felt the identical way,” said Wujec, who studied geography and biology at Concordia University before landing research funding from the National Geographic Explorers program to go on a scientific expedition to the Solomon Islands.

Upon her return Wujec moved to Toronto in 2015, where she began freelancing as a nature photographer and videographer. But Wujec’s dissatisfaction with the outdoor clothing industry continued to mount.

“The reality is most conventional outdoor brands created women’s apparel using the ‘Shrink and Pink’ design process, which based women’s designs on slight variations of men’s designs. And someway these products were all the time coloured pink. That’s bananas,” Wujec said.

Conventional brands also designed appeared to design primarily for skinny individuals who were hard-core athletes.

None of this addressed “the problems women face as their bodies grow and alter,” said Wujec, who was determined to create fashionable, functional, outdoor wear that was size-inclusive, sustainable, community-informed in its design and focused on women having fun.

Blackman and Wujec were determined their brand lead the industry in these ways in addition to in ethical production and variety.

“Traditionally the outside industry has been overwhelmingly white. We desired to welcome different ethnicities, in addition to women of walks of life into the outdoor journey,” Blackman told WWD.

To that end, Blackman and Wujec surveyed 1,000 women on Reddit forums and Facebook groups, asking them what they wanted — and didn’t want — of their outdoor clothing. They learned that 92 percent of respondents couldn’t find pants that fit properly. That discovery result in the creation of Alder Apparel’s Open Air Pant, a customer favorite which includes a high-rise waist and slim fit that appears equally nearly as good worn on a hike or a visit to the mall.

“Our Open Air Pant is our bestseller since it suits all and sundry shape. That may be very unusual within the outdoor apparel world,” said Blackman, who together with Wujec launched a Kickstarter campaign in September 2019 to secure $20,000 to launch their business. When the campaign was over, they’d reached $191,000.

Alder Apparel’s lineup includes shorts, tank tops, fleece jackets, and a newly launched swimwear line product of Econyl yarn, an eco-friendly pick constructed from recycled nylon. Ranging in size from XS to 6X, “to our knowledge that is the biggest size range of any outdoor brand that we all know of in North America,” Wujec said.

All this captured the interest of Canadian apparel brand Roots, which was impressed by the female-led company’s personal and direct relationship with their consumer.

“From Roots’ perspective community is significant to us. Once we see young brands that align with our values we listen,” said Karuna Scheinfeld, chief product officer at Roots. “Sometimes it’s mentorship. Sometimes we hire them. But sharing those similar core values inspired us to work with this young brand.”

On Thursday, the 2 firms will launch their first collaboration, a capsule collection that mixes Alder Apparel’s expertise in inclusive design and sustainability with Roots’ “wealthy heritage and iconic style.”

The gathering features nine apparel pieces and three leather picks. They include a dress, short, cargo pant, crew top, cropped tank, legging and skort.

“There may be plenty of innovation here to deal with the precise cut, seams and the fit for all and sundry type. We used recycled, high-quality materials. We dug deep into the pattern making so we could create the proper fit and built tech performance into the gathering,” Scheinfeld said. “But that is luxury lifestyle and is a primary within the premium outdoor space.”

Available online at Alder Apparel and Roots, the gathering can be present in Roots stores in Los Angeles and Taiwan.

“Working with Roots was organic for us and what we’ve created is flexible, fresh, playful, and the prints are beautiful,” said Blackman, whose company is now prepping to launch a recent collection of trainers with Danier in the autumn of 2024, and run events, community hikes, pop-ups and more in Toronto, Vancouver and Seattle between now and 2024.