How Arc’teryx Became One of the Coolest Brands in Fashion

Plenty of Street Cred

Once Arc’teryx arrived in the late 80s, the brand began to develop low-key street cred within the graffiti subculture. Stealing items like paint and jackets has always been a big part of that scene, and in the 90s, street artists began wearing Arc’teryx on the regular. Referred to colloquially as ‘Dead Bird’, Arc’teryx (sports jackets, in particular) became the uniform for graffiti writers around the globe – from NYC, to Australia and beyond. Desired for the exclusivity of its high price point, functionality and recognisable logo, this meant that the zip-ups were not only perfect for long, cold nights on the street, but were also rather easy to flip on the secondary market.

While established brands like Salomon, Nike ACG, The North Face and Colombia already had the market on lock, nothing was going to stop the Dead Bird from swooping in and flying high above its competitors.

The GORPcore Movement

Dead Bird Goes Viral

Although Arc’teryx has never fully committed to being a streetwear entity, in 2020 they started dabbling in lifestyle-leaning collaborations. Palace was first on their list, focusing on the London skate behemoth’s deep connection with technical outerwear. Next up was Jil Sander – known for their minimalist approach to clothes. They’ve also made a note to invest in young creatives, recently hiring Nicole Mclaughlin among others, as brand ambassadors and advisors! 

Even more recently, the Arc appeal grew to unthinkable proportions. Their water-wicking elements and flex value went viral on TikTok, multiple times over, with #arcteryx racking up almost 300 million views. One of the most popular videos had wearers standing in the shower, allowing water to cascade over their Dead Bird jackets. Another common trend was to layer up multiple Arc products, unzipping each one to reveal more. All of these TikToks were usually bolstered by the track ‘Arc’teryx’ by YT.