Men’s Hill City apparel features everything from water-repellant everyday pants to insulated puffer jackets; they aim to redefine high-performance wear for guys.
Launching an online-only business can be challenging enough, but it becomes even more complex in an environment in which retail giants like Gap are shutting stores down. That didn’t stop Noah Palmer and his 18-person team from succeeding, though!
1. The Everyday Pant
Hill City was Gap’s newest brand and, unlike most acquisitions of startups by larger companies, was created from scratch and launched solely online. This allowed Hill City’s team to cultivate an engaged following through their wear tester program using Facebook groups and chatbots for feedback collection.
Wear testers were instrumental in designing trousers that appear as streetwear but function like performance gear. These feature hidden zipper pockets, ventilation flaps, and moisture-wicking fabric to keep sweat and rainwater from the body.
The Everyday Pant offers durable double-weave nylon/spandex that’s soft, comfortable, and stretchy in all directions. It also includes secure back pocket access and two utility pockets made with Dyneema reinforcement material for utility storage purposes. Furthermore, they come in multiple waist sizes and four inseam length options to fit all bodies perfectly.
2. The Reversible Puffer
Mack Weldon’s Reversible Puffer is an attractive yet rugged outdoor jacket featuring Thinsulate technology to keep out sweat and rainwater. Additionally, its waterproof coating ensures both sides can withstand being wet out.
Hill City offered stylish yet high-performance wear such as this piece for $128 on its website.
Hill City was established to help Gap accelerate customer feedback into its product development cycle faster. To this end, they developed a “wear tester” program. They utilized social media’s power of one-on-one communication to engage directly with customers via an online chatbot and one-to-one engagement.
3. The Everyday Merino Tee
This versatile merino wool shirt is the ultimate multitasker. Use it as a base layer on summit pushes, or wear it casually around town tucked into chinos – you won’t need anything else! Keep yourself calm and dry as moisture-wicking helps fight nasty odors. In contrast, the naturally wrinkle-resistant fabric made from superfine non-mulesed merino wool and wood-derived TENCEL keeps wrinkles at bay and is fully compostable when lifespan ends!
Hill City is not some random new apparel brand that springs up from nowhere; instead, it is part of Gap Inc, one of the country’s oldest apparel companies. Their latest clothing line focuses on performance wear, such as water-repellant everyday pants and insulated puffer jackets, an appropriate entry into post-athleisure fashion when men expect their clothes to flex, breathe freely, and still look good without even trying.
4. The Everyday T-Shirt
The Everyday T-Shirt is one of the brand’s best-selling t-shirts. Although it appears performance wear-esque, it works equally well for casual use. Made of durable material with high stitch count thread count and various colors available, easy-care fabric makes for hassle-free travel experiences! Plus, it rolls well into packing cubes.
Hill City shirts are also eco-friendly, constructed using Relux jersey made with TENCEL(tm) Lyocell fabric produced through an eco-friendly closed-loop process. Furthermore, using chatbots to communicate with Wear Testers enables Hill City to collect feedback early in product development cycles to develop better products.
Hill City hopes to take advantage of the current trend toward fashionable, high-performance clothing for men, competing directly against Lululemon and other athletic brands like their own. However, Gap’s financial crisis forced it to cut costs, including Hill City, which unfortunately became one of its targets.
5. The Everyday Jacket
Hill City by Gap Inc. is their latest men-specific brand, created specifically to cater to them. These pieces mix performance wear that looks like streetwear with streetwear that functions like performance wear.
Athleisurewear is an emerging retail segment, and Lululemon’s success has inspired Gap to enter this space through Hill City. Their debut line includes half-zip training tops, run shorts, and lightweight running pants.
Hill City’s digital-first approach to engaging its audience has been pivotal to its early success. Utilizing chatbots, Hill City customers can communicate directly with them and even co-create future products – like their Everyday Jacket, which features body-mapped neoprene that provides flexibility where needed while offering durability in critical spots.
