A person who loves outdoor activities starts to doubt the value of outdoor pursuits.

Written by | Wang Li

Edited by | Weiweizi, Wang Xiaokun

In the late summer of 2022, bulldozers rolled into a ruin in the southeast of Milan. Their tracks crushed gravel and weeds before stopping in front of several low - rise old factories.

The brick walls of the factories were mottled, most of the round windows were broken, and dead vines climbed on the walls. This used to be a freight station, filled with the smell of engine oil in the past, with workers shuttling back and forth and the sound of loading and unloading echoing. After the factories gradually moved out, the land gradually fell into silence.

Until the Olympic Village was selected to be built here. In the following three years, the ruins were reborn. Tower cranes rotated and welding sparks flew from dawn till dusk.

Across the street, a golden tower stood silently. It was the headquarters and art center of the Fondazione Prada. This area was far from the "fashion heart" of Milan, but in 2015, it returned to the public eye due to the completion of this architectural complex. A few years later, people saw the same name again on the list of investors of the Olympic Village - Prada.

Fondazione Prada, Image source: italia.it

The tentacles of luxury brands have long reached the Winter Olympics. Armani sponsored the Italian team, and Ralph Lauren designed the uniforms for the US team... These actions may not be directly aimed at the Winter Olympics, but they blurred the boundaries between fashion and the outdoors.

At least, that's what the public opinion thinks.

Thousands of kilometers away, the Chinese market was also restless. Outdoor brands collectively moved towards "fashion". Whether they were new favorites of capital or traditional brands, they all tried to squeeze into the field long - dominated by Western brands.

If luxury goods keep approaching the outdoors, is there still a place for Chinese brands in the high - end market?

Zhou Shaoen might be a good person to answer this question.

He is an associate professor at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. He was responsible for the costume design of "Beijing 8 Minutes" at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics, and he is also the designer of the women's softball national team.

But when you push open the door of his office, you won't think of his titles first. It's more like a curation site with an outdoor theme: Posters are hanging on the walls, hard - shell and soft - shell jackets are lined up on the hangers, and four pairs of skis stand beside the bookshelf. Among all the colors and lines in the room, the most eye - catching thing is the bright purple - framed glasses on his face.

Zhou Shaoen's office at BIFT

On December 12, 2025, the heavy snow outside was covering the campus in white. I sat opposite him. Just as I started the conversation, Zhou Shaoen took out a book.

On the pure - black background of the cover, illustrations of outdoor products were collaged in a scattered way, and the words "Encyclopedia of Outdoor Items" were written on the top. When I opened the pages, there were yellow scratches and annotations between the lines. "You're not a professional outdoor person. Will you be interested in such a book?"

Then, we talked from the process of writing the book to the current situation of the Chinese outdoor industry. Two hours passed, and that question still remained unanswered. When I thought I could only hear the story of writing the book, Zhou Shaoen suddenly stopped: "Do you know? When I finished writing this book, there was something I didn't realize before."

"They are all names of countries." His eyes dimmed slightly.

"You'll find that after 30 years of development in the Chinese outdoor industry, the selling points and technologies we're proud of all bear foreign names. The zippers are YKK¹ from Japan, the tapes are Bemis² from the United States, and the fabrics are GORE - TEX³ from the United States."

He paused for a moment and then added: "On the websites of many brands, there isn't even a story about themselves."

Zhou Shaoen attending an industry forum

5000 copies

At first, Zhou Shaoen didn't think "writing a book" would be that difficult.

In the first half of 2025, the outdoor industry was extremely hot. Brossen was rushing to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and more than 24,000 new outdoor - related companies were established. Open social media, and with just a few swipes, you could see "mountain - style outfits" of outdoor bloggers. Taking advantage of this boom, publishing an outdoor book seemed to be a logical thing to do.

As he envisioned, "Encyclopedia of Outdoor Items" was not an obscure industry - history popular science book, but a product - reading book with pictures and texts, detailing the background knowledge and usage methods of products. Moreover, there was a lack of such systematic sorting in China.

Cover of "Encyclopedia of Outdoor Items"

As soon as the sample chapters were sorted out, Zhou Shaoen immediately visited several publishers. The replies came quickly and were all the same: not interested.

A friend in the publishing industry said bluntly: "The topic of the outdoors in the book market is too narrow and niche. Even if the topic is submitted, it won't pass the company's review."

Looking at this reply, he typed out several lines of explanations in the dialog box and then deleted them one by one. Finally, he only replied with two words: "Understood."

After several rejections, Zhou Shaoen accepted the fact that the prosperity of the outdoor industry and the popularity of professional content were two different things.

He didn't give up and continued to contact other publishers. He even proposed to not only be responsible for the content but also share the financial risks. However, the responses from the publishers remained the same.

Zhou Shaoen at the printing factory

Since the conventional path didn't work, Zhou Shaoen simply paid out of his own pocket, took on the risks, and personally controlled the details.

"It's quite interesting to think about it," he said word by word. "I write a book. I do the work. I spend the money." He paused and laughed at himself first: "And I still have to follow the rules."

On the day of the interview, in front of me, Zhou Shaoen calculated the accounts. He rubbed the corner of the paper. "It's imported paper from Japan. For a full - color book to show a sense of quality, we can't skimp on the paper."

The book number, paper, printing... Each item was a hard cost. The pricing had to cover the cost and not seem too expensive. For this reason, he asked all his students, friends, and colleagues, and finally settled on 68 yuan.

"The Chinese market is huge. Even if it's a niche market, as long as I can capture this group of readers, I think it's enough."

Then, Zhou Shaoen pulled the computer over and opened the sorted - out promotion form. The fluorescent light from the screen was reflected on his purple glasses. He counted on his fingers and murmured to himself. After several estimations, the target was set at 5000 copies.

"But this is just my assumption."

He closed the computer, pushed the sample book aside, and didn't calculate anymore.

This wasn't the first time Zhou Shaoen had challenged himself.

3.8 cm

It was Zhou Shaoen who insisted on making the zipper of that down jacket smaller. 

After the sample garment came out, it had to be reviewed as usual. In the office, he handed the down jacket to the boss, Hans, and pointed to the zipper.

This change wasn't discussed in advance. It was his judgment during the sample - making process - a smaller zipper would make the proportion more coordinated.

In 2010, after teaching at BIFT for two or three years, Zhou Shaoen joined Obermeyer. This Chinese outdoor brand was founded by a Swiss and attached great importance to professional performance. He worked as a part - time design director there.

In that era, functionality was the primary standard for product development. Clothing might be bulky and rough, like unpolished industrial products, but it was reliable. Obermeyer was no exception.

Influenced by European design training, he valued the aesthetics and narrative of clothing more. In 2011, when designing the "Lynx" series of equipment for the national climbing team, he tried to incorporate ancient cultural images.

Without changing the structure, Zhou Shaoen modified this inconspicuous detail of the zipper.

A mountaineering project sponsored by Zhou Shaoen. The picture shows one of a set of clothing.

Hans took the sample garment, pulled the zipper a few times. "Too small." He shook his head. "It's a professional garment."

The feedback was short. Hans put the sample garment back on the table without explanation. Zhou Shaoen didn't argue and put away the clothes without changing it back.

In May 2012, he wore this sample garment to participate in the "Snow Mountain Protection Plan" organized by the company. The destination was the Karola Glacier. During the event, Hans required all core products to be tested in a high - altitude environment.

In 2012, the camp of the "Snow Mountain Protection Plan" at the Everest Base Camp. Image source: Douzi

The convoy stopped at a pass over 5000 meters above sea level. Soon after getting off the car, Zhou Shaoen felt his body out of control: His feet felt like stepping on cotton, his ears were buzzing, and the voices of his teammates seemed to come from underwater.

In a daze, he instinctively wanted to zip up the down jacket, but found that wearing thick gloves, he couldn't grasp the smaller zipper pull. The cold wind poured in through the front of the clothes. The more anxious he was, the stiffer his hands became; the stiffer his hands became, the more difficult it was to grasp the zipper. In such an environment, every second of delay meant a risk of frostbite.

After returning to Beijing, without waiting for Hans to remind him, he voluntarily changed this design.  

But he didn't go back to the original state. Instead, he led the team to conduct repeated tests, simulating grasping in extreme environments with gloves on. After dozens of blind tests, the size of the zipper pull was fixed at 3.8 cm.  

Since then, functionality has become Zhou Shaoen's bottom line in design.

The Birth of a Best - Seller

When Zhou Shaoen first joined the company, a three - in - one windbreaker led by the sales manager had already been on the market.  

In the internal discussions, Hans always opposed it: It was not suitable to wear the inner liner alone, nor was it appropriate to wear the outer shell alone. When the two were worn together, there was a draft at the zipper in the middle. He couldn't figure out how to wear it.  

"It has no defined positioning."

In Hans' dictionary, layering must correspond to clear scenarios, rather than a simple combination.  

Adhering to this principle of "scenario - based design", in 2010, Hans began to look for a designer who was familiar with European culture and not restricted by experience. That's why Zhou Shaoen joined the company. He went abroad with Hans every year to communicate with the R & D teams of well - known outdoor brands.  

Hans and Zhou Shaoen

However, once a product starts selling well, principles will take a back seat.

Once the sales data came out, the focus of the discussion shifted. It changed from "whether it fits the scenario" to "how to sell more". Zhou Shaoen privately inquired about the reason for its popularity. The salesperson's explanation was simple: "It's cost - effective. You spend the money for one piece of clothing but get two, and there are three ways to wear it. You can wear it almost all year round."  

Although Hans still had doubts, the production line didn't stop. Products in the "windbreaker +" series, such as "windbreaker + soft shell" and "windbreaker + cotton - padded jacket", were repeatedly put on the R & D agenda.