Reese Cooper Spring Summer 2022 at Paris Men’s Fashion Week

As the sounds of two-time Grammy winner KAYTRANADA bounced off the San Gabriel mountains, flags flew in the breeze across the East Fork Bridge just north of Azusa, California when Reese Cooper debuted his SS22 runway show aptly entitled, “Fresh Air.”

As part of a 5-year partnership with the USDA Forest Service, Cooper regularly incorporates the outdoors into his collections and shows. This season a bridge nestled in the mountains became a runway as friends of the brand gathered for the debut of Cooper’s largest collection to date of both men’s and women’s ready to wear.

The flags lining the runway appear throughout the collection on graphic tees, hoodies, bags and most notably, a skirt comprised of pieces of all of them.

True to the brand, the collection features an array of outerwear including men’s bomber and work jackets as well women’s varsity jackets adorned with the bespoke flags. The collection also highlights running inspired images which dovetail into the launch of a collaboration with Merrell 1 TRL that includes two trail runners and a newly designed Hydro Runner in bespoke RCI colourways and prints. Cooper is also releasing his Wilson Boot in an array of new colours including bold reds, blues and greens.

A Levi’s collab is also revealed. This season Cooper worked with Levi’s sustainability team to take excess stock to reconstruct new jeans and jackets. Due to the nature of the obsolete and excess Levi’s inventory, each piece will be sold as a one of one.

While many pieces in the collection are unisex, Cooper has an elevated approach to womenswear for SS22 with an assortment of silk pieces displaying botanical prints created after flower picking in Southern California. Skirts, blouses, camisoles and scarves create a more feminine version of the typical RCI outdoor motif.

Bags featured heavily with many looks as a new accessory line was displayed. Of note is the final collaboration of the season with fine artist, Juliet Johnstone, known for her hand painted clothing designs. Cooper and Johnstone created a floral that was printed onto leather for a line of bags and belts. The pair then took the floral design and had it digitally woven onto silk and organza and layered to create the finale dress juxtaposed with the functional Wilson Boot.

All garments are made in Los Angeles, California. RCI is committed to protecting and restoring the forests through a partnership with One Tree Planted® where a tree is donated for every item sold.