Hitting the Slopes with Jane Wade

You’ve never seen gorp-core this chic.

Designer Jane Wade showed us her Pacific Northwest roots in her New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2024 collection, Out of Office. As a Portland, Oregon native, since we can’t see the mountains in New York City, Wade brought the mountains to us. The two-year-old brand fuses gorp-core, not-so-corporate casual, loungewear, and evening wear through grey and neutral hues.

Wade defied these styles with futurism, adding notes of utilitarian workwear like modish gloves, ski goggles, balaclavas, headbands, and Salomon vests and footwear. Each look is presented as gender-neutral with a twist of sportswear. Models accessorized ski boots, a snowboard, a walkie-talkie, a multi-functional messenger bag, vintage headphones, and the most talked about ice bag. It caught everyone’s attention as it was literally melting down the runway, held up by a chain frozen into the ice.

Each look had a different workwear theme, including the Ranger Rescue, the She-Shredder, the Lift Operator, the Avalanche/Rescue Team, the Ski Bum, and more. The same went for the ultra-modern corporate looks: the Fall Internship, the Data Analyst, the CFO, the Process Server, and more. The final evening wear looks comprised knit, cotton, and leather floor-length gowns, calling them the Snow Angel, the Double Black Diamond, Incognito, and the Prodigy.

What made this show Wade’s best? Out of Office wasn’t trendy. It was timeless. People will never stop working and playing, so why not look good while you do it? The pieces can be mixed and matched, all while having an edge. I felt Wade’s identity through each piece, showcasing the identities of her home in Portland and navigating her way through a corporate city like NYC.