Gorpcore fashion just got a whole lot cooler thanks to eco-conscious brand 101%. Co-founded by Jessica Maxey and Fernando Romero, the label aims create unisex, performance-inspired clothing that can be enjoyed in the bustling city. But this isn’t standard crunchy chic. Founded in 2021, the Mexico City-based brand makes clothes that feel as if they were ripped from an early 2000s music video and placed in the desert. Think: draped hooded tops, sweetheart-neckline jumpsuits, and Y2K-feeling midi dresses with cargo pockets, all out of technical materials. “Our best summers and winters are spent in the mountains, where you have to replace a city wardrobe for something a lot more technical and utilitarian,” she tells Vogue. “This inspired the future-focused concept of incorporating the functionality of performance-wear with the necessity of city dressing.”
While designed for an urban lifestyle, 101% relies on pragmatic details, incorporating high-neck lines that can be pulled over the bottom of the face (ever prescient in the time of Covid), two-way waterproof zippers, and functional pockets into their designs. When it comes to the great outdoors, the label proves that fashion and function can happily coexist.
Photo: Courtesy of 101%
The brand’s new backcountry-chic collection “Floor Plans”—which dropped on August 15—was inspired by Mexican architecture, which is reflected in the collection’s organic shapes and neutral colors. “As the brand is co-founded by architect Fernando Romero, architecture has always been a part of the conversation, looking at how clothes are your shelter and should offer similar protective and functional qualities as buildings do,” Maxey says. The architectural firm FR-EE provided direct inspiration. “The rational floor plans are taken from the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City by architecture firm, FR-EE,” Maxey says. The organic floor plans were inspired by a one-of-a-kind villa house on the Pacific coast of Mexico, she adds.
For someone with such reverence for the great outdoors, it’s no surprise that sustainability was of critical importance to Maxey. “The fashion industry is inherently unsustainable so we always made sustainable initiatives a top priority in every aspect of the brand,” she says. In an effort to combat waste, each of the made-to-order garments are made of recycled polyester from pre- and post-consumer waste like fishing net and plastic water bottles. Some of the pieces are also made of ECONYL®️ regenerated nylon. “We have also partnered with POLARTEC® and REPREVE® who all make incredible recycled materials with the same functionality and quality as regular fabrics,” Maxey adds. And for every order placed, 101% donate a hoodie to migrants at the US-Mexico border, where they also donate unworn prototypes to immigration charities.
So, whether you’re looking to elevate your good ol’ raisins and peanuts wardrobe, or want to invest in more environmentally conscious clothing, 101% is 101% worthwhile.