The October issues of two iconic magazines both feature hipsters outdoors in nature. I am over the moon.
It's young people outdoors, not hunting, not ATV'ing, not partying and littering, but taking nature into account on its own terms. They may be topless (Nat'l Geo), or independently wealthy (Vogue), but hey, I'll take it! They have noticed that nature is relevant, and that leads to caring about it. We outdoorsy goofballs have known all along that nature is hip. Now mainstream media and their glamorous denizens are taking note, too.
In the case of National Geo, of course they are advocates for conservation, and have been for the duration. But NG readership has declined over the years and it's recently been majority bought out by Rupert Murdoch. Is this new cover an attempt to sex up a formerly dead-serious relic? Well, maybe.
Clearly, NG noticed they have to appeal to the hipsters now, and have done so winningly with this cover. I hope the young sylphs get a few more eyes on the rag which contains some more serious content alongside the people having fun without you. Luckily, Tim Egan wrote the cover story, so it's substantial in its own right.
And Vogue, I know you're thinking, really? Can you get those clothes dirty, even? Why would they care? Vogue, for all its elitism, has some stalwart tree-hugging editors on staff (Tonne Goodman leading the pack), who've been quietly promoting both more sustainable production, designers who recycle or produce from mill ends or use natural dyes and organic fibers, for over 15 years. I know, because I wrote a letter to the editor about it, which made it to their print edition September 2001 (who can forget that month?).
This issue of the tome shows "outdoor" clothing, albeit it more romantic than practical, but heck, who cares? I love sartorial strokes in any effort outdoors. Why not? We are a species of visual observers and followers, and why not look sharp if the gear is functional too? Or a truly functional option is a convincing facsimilie of something seen in Vogue-like pages? Let that be a starting point, if fussing over an outfit is going to keep a person from going on a hike at all.
If you like this train of thought, you might enjoy these earlier posts about iconic outdoorsy types: Yuri Yosumi, Eleanor Addleman and The Amandas.