Introducing The Rock Fight Deep Dive! A new series where we team up with a partner for a deeper look at an outdoor industry topic.
Today Colin takes an unfiltered look at the state of fabric innovation in the outdoor industry by heading to the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon.
Prompted by a listener letter asking whether the industry’s obsession with lifestyle over performance has killed innovation, Colin hits the trade show floor to find out for himself.
He’s joined by:
- Charles Ross, performance material expert, who defines true innovation as “solving real problems — not just changing colors.”
- Michelle Rose, designer and founder of Struktur Society, who argues that imagination and play—not process—drive breakthroughs.
- Greg Garrigues, Director of Innovation at Mountain Hardwear, who insists innovation is about diligence and iteration, not just creativity.
- Mya Franklin of LifeLabs, a new textile company pushing thermal-regulation fabrics born from Stanford research.
- Stewart Sheppard, sustainability veteran, who explains that consumers don’t dream of “green products” — they dream of great gear that works and feels good.
- And Ben Ryan, formerly of The North Face and Salomon, who reminds us that the spark of excitement and curiosity still fuels every real innovation.
What did we find when we dove deep? Innovation isn’t dead — it’s just not where you used to look for it.
Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.
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