The catalog was a milestone in fashion merchandising. “We were the first to use real people, and captions saying who and where they were,” he told The New Yorker. Patagonia and Chouinard himself remain proud of the catalog to this day. The novelist Craig Halloway has kept his day job at Patagonia on and off for thirty-five years. Photos from prominent outdoor photographers like John Russell, Galen Rowell, and Corey Rich have graced the catalog’s pages. Beautiful outdoor photos and copy inspired by the likes of Jack London and Ernest Hemingway were given just as much space as product pictures and descriptions. The brand’s identity was just a important as the product. Many people-even those who never make it out of their respective city limits, let alone to the High Sierras-want to be a part of this coterie of mountaineers and adventurers. Patagonia understood that its customers were, in many ways, in their own club. The company also became a legendary advertiser. Patagonia didn’t just revolutionize the outdoor space when it came to product innovation. Fleece jackets have since become a staple outdoor wear, copied by Patagonia’s competitors and big box retailers alike. This also marked the beginning of prioritizing recycled materials at the company. Patagonia’s robust commitment to research and development continues to this day. The company understood that they were no longer constrained by materials already being used in its industry. These two revolutionary fabrics deepened the culture of innovation at Patagonia. In 1985, Patagonia introduced both fleece jackets made of Sychilla and Capilene polyester long underwear products in the same season. From French red to turquoise blue, It only takes a trip to your local REI or major adventure outfitter to see how Patagonia provides far more than Earth-toned offerings. Intelligently catering to both popular culture and its dedicated group of climbers, Patagonia changed all that by releasing its products in bold colors. Traditionally gear had been drab and austere, dominated by muted browns, greens and beiges. Throughout the 1980s, neon-drenched garments were perfectly normal, but not in outdoorsy clothing. Patagonia was even a pioneer in the color of its products. By this point, Patagonia had developed a culture of redefining what outdoor gear looked like by challenging traditional notions about serving the outdoorsman. Not only did the product become a bestseller, it helped popularize the concept of layering among the outdoorsy masses. Patagonia’s next great innovation came in 1980 when the company brought insulated long underwear made of polypropylene to market. It wasn’t until the early eighties that the company developed Sychilla, a double-faced fabric that does not pill. Early attempts were flawed, but still incredibly popular, despite performing imperfectly in the elements and revealing a tendency to pill. Inspired by a layered sweater favored by North Atlantic fishermen, Chouinard and company sought to create a garment that would provide warmth while absorbing moisture. Though Chouinard designed outdoor clothing throughout the ‘70s, it was the release of the signature Pile Fleece jacket in 1977 that put Patagonia on the map. Demand was so high that he shortly started building clothing of his own. After discovering how much his fellow climbers liked rugby shirts in the early ‘70s, he started importing them and other breathable materials for sale to his peers. The company erupted from its humble beginnings in a Burbank backyard chicken coop, and by 1970, Chouinard Equipment was the largest supplier of climbing equipment in the U.S.Īs his climbing equipment gained a following, and Chouinard continued to think about how he could improve life for climbers, he grew interested in apparel. In the early days, he would haul his anvil with him up and down the West Coast, peddling his wares as he climbed and surfed. The enterprise began because Chouinard was so unhappy with European pitons (climbing spikes) that he created his own, teaching himself blacksmithing skills along the way. Chouinard launched his namesake company, Chouinard Equipment, a climbing gear outfit, when he was only 19 years old. His passion for climbing led him to stumble backwards into the business world. He alternated between the thrill of battling surf and the challenge of mountain climbing as he bummed his way around the world. Chouinard spent his twenties like many wish they had: he scaled Yosemite’s Muir Wall, kayaked the rapids in Yellowstone and traveled to the tip of South America. Founder Yvon Chouinard began with an authentic passion that you can’t fake, because his original customer was himself.

This concern for its core customer-the rugged lover of the outdoors, the wide-eyed mountain climber, the restless adventurer-has been Patagonia’s focus from the very beginning.

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