Reese Cooper launched his namesake label when he was just 18 and brought his distinct, youthful vision of highly-detailed workwear from Los Angeles to Paris before he had turned 20. Soon after, in 2019, he was named first runner-up by the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and made it onto the Paris Fashion Week calendar as an American who produced nearly everything in America right down to the zippers. He returned post-pandemic in June 2022 with an irrefutably cool runway show at the Jardin des Plantes that involved a capsule with Levi’s; the denim behemoth even let Reese Cooper Industries turn their tab dark green. And he hasn’t been back since.
That doesn’t mean Cooper pressed pause—far from it. In parallel to feeding his brand with fresh wares minus the fanfare, he also began developing a concept that has been three years in the making, rendering his compelling design language, only more accessible. In an exclusive with Vogue, he explains in realest terms that he wants to reconcile the issue that his peers and pals are often priced out of his California-made clothes. “I can’t afford my own stuff and don’t have a single friend who can,” he says. That, and the fact that the seven-figure spend on a Paris catwalk wasn’t feasible season after season. “That show almost completely bankrupted me.”
On Friday, he will debut what he is calling his sister line, Reese Cooper Outdoor Supply or RCOS, as the branding makes clear. The vibe remains youthful while the design puts emphasis on utility; there are light technical jackets that pack into cross-body bags; two-tone fleece pieces; oversized cargos and technical parkas covered in a photo print of tree bark with RCOS repeatedly carved into the surface; and light shells in translucent nylon ripstop and base layers in soothing hues of gradient green and washed lilac.
Pacsun, the mall-friendly, mass retailer where teens have flocked for surf and sport-leaning apparel, is manufacturing and distributing the line across its stores, but Cooper’s clout has also drawn the likes of SSENSE, Nordstrom, Selfridges, Backcountry, and Notre in Chicago.
The process, he recalls, was a learning curve for both parties. “I really appreciate them taking a chance; they don’t make this kind of product,” he says. “I wanted to put the maximum amount of function in that I could.” Hence what he calls the “easter eggs” which include 3D-zipper pulls in the shape of rocks; his signature hooks, only now in tone-on-tone colors; custom eyelets and heat-sealed drawstrings; proper taped seams and removable skirt for snowboarding jackets. Of the 72 items so far, the pricing does not exceed $400.
The branding, conceived by Playlab, the multi-disciplinary, L.A-based creative studio known for its imaginative installations and activations for Off-White and OTW by Vans, gives the line an instantly recognizable touch. RCOS appears as a kind of ink-drawn logo, the letters arranged like a cube for the outside logo patches. Until today, Cooper has been teasing the release mainly by depicting the logo in water, sand, seaweed, and rocks—a refreshing approach that is more human, less Helvetica. Inside the garments, meanwhile, woven labels will feature printed landscapes to indicate the seasons.