and wander is a Japanese outdoor clothing brand founded in 2011 by Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori — two former designers at ISSEY MIYAKE — in Tokyo. The name reflects the brand’s founding philosophy: “wander” means to walk around and explore aimlessly, celebrating a casual, unhurried relationship with the outdoors rather than the performance-obsessed summit-chasing culture of mainstream mountaineering. and wander is widely credited as one of the brands that helped define the Japanese approach to outdoor fashion — technical functionality delivered with high-fashion aesthetic intelligence.
Key Facts
- Founded: 2011
- Founders/Designers: Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Industry: Technical Outdoor Apparel, Fashion
History
Keita Ikeuchi worked as a designer at ISSEY MIYAKE MEN, where a colleague introduced him to camping and he became deeply interested in the outdoors. Unable to find outdoor clothing that matched his taste as someone with a fashion design background — clothing for a casual weekend in the mountains near Tokyo, not for 6,000-metre expeditions — he brought the idea to Mihoko Mori, who had also worked at ISSEY MIYAKE before going freelance. Together they launched and wander in 2011. The brand won the Tokyo Fashion Award in 2016 and opened its first flagship store, MT, in Tokyo in 2017. In 2019, the brand was acquired by TSI Holdings through its subsidiary Anglobal, while Ikeuchi and Mori remain as designers.
Design and Functionality System
and wander developed its own product rating system: a hang tag with one, two, or three mountain symbols indicating how technical a piece is, allowing customers to understand whether they are buying something for serious mountain use or everyday life with outdoor DNA. The brand uses materials including GORE-TEX, Polartec, and proprietary blends, applying them to silhouettes with fashion-conscious construction that would not look out of place in a Tokyo concept store. Collections are shot in mountain environments — a consistent reminder that the brand intends its clothing to actually be worn outdoors. Stocked by Mytheresa, Hypebeast, END. Clothing, Standard & Strange, The Sporting Lodge, and other international retailers.
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