Unromanticing Mountains Through (Un)Fashionable Mountain Tools

Hsiang-Lin Kuo researched the colonial origins and technological development of recreational hiking in an effort to understand its conquest-driven approach. In response to hiking gear having evolved into romanticized technological fetish items, Kuo created (un)fashionable mountain tools that broaden the spectrum of hikers' current relationships with mountains. Inspired by the vernacular hiking culture in Taiwan, the collection is a low-tech bricolage of household objects. The shoes' soles take the shape of Taiwan's most hiked peaks. The peaks break once worn, leaving the wearer struggling to find balance as it collapses.