Unearthing Arc'Teryx

Unearthing material archetypes of the Archaeopteryx Lithographica. The Archaeopteryx is a specimen that traces its existence back to the Jurassic period. First uncovered around the mid-1800’s in Bavarian Germany, the artifact was preserved by limestone deposits laid nearly 150 million years ago. As more and more intact examples were uncovered, the fossilized evidence of the feathered reptile gave reason to think it could be one of the earliest creatures to evolve in such a way. A walk, to a climb, to a flight. Following years of successful evolutionary attempts, the reptile freed itself from the belly scraping confines of walking a straight plane horizon and instead built a bridge to traverse earth and sky. The incredible pre-historic evolution of the Archaeopteryx would come to find itself re-manifest into something starkly similar for the modern age.

Fast forward from Jurassic age Germany to ’89 British Colombia. Through the dense rock and cloud that drapes itself along the vertical landscapes of the Coast Range, a gear company sat situated at the damp foothills, at the entry into those beautifully brutal mountains. It was founded on an idea seemingly shared by that of its featured dinosaur namesake, “there is always a better way.” Arc’teryx possesses a similar mission to that of the strange bird; develop a means toward maximum environmental adaptation in order for a species to best engage with variable habitats.