We all love the creativity that goes into gear tech innovation. But we also applaud the more refined artistic sensibilities that have started to shoulder their way into the outdoor industry. Next fall, Icebreaker will continue to push this particular envelop with the launch of their “The Art of Nature” product series, which is slated to be an annual collaboration between the New Zealand merino wool powerhouse and artists who use found elements of nature in their works. First up, Simon Beck, the British artist whose videos recently blew up in social media. He creates jaw-dropping pieces of art using the vast snowfields of the Alps as his canvas by stomping intricate designs with snowshoes, a process that can take up to 11 hours. His process speaks to our love of enduring the elements; he outfits himself with a tent, snowshoes, an orienteering compass, and a protractor, sketching out the meticulous pattern, and then waits for the weather to cooperate. One of his latest designs, a vast merino wool ram’s horn, will be exclusive to Icebreaker and took Beck eight hours to sketch into the snow covering Switzerland’s Bachalpsee Lake; a two-minute video of the feat will debut in October 2014. This design—and others—will be featured on 20 long- and short-sleeved shirts for men and women on Icebreaker’s high-quality merino fabric. A dollar of each piece sold will be donated to the nonprofit Protect Our Winters.
—Nathan Borchelt
And some shots of Simon Beck at work:
