Our Favorite Techwear Jackets Available Now

Over the last 10 years, an entirely new genre of menswear exploded onto the scene. While elements of techwear have existed arguably since the early-’90s—the genre’s central figure Acronym was founded in 1994 and began producing clothing in 2002—the once niche aesthetic only transformed into a household name over the last decade. Though Errolson Hugh (designer of the aforementioned Acronym as well as Stone Island Shadow Project) laid the foundation for techwear in the early-2000s, devout Reddit forums and the designer’s appointment to the now defunct NikeLab ACG imprint in 2014 propelled technical fabrics, minimal styling and futuristic silhouettes into menswear proper. Designed to withstand multiple environments and suited for our increasingly technology-reliant world—Junya Wantanabe introduced a jacket with a built-in phone charger connected to external solar panels in 2016—techwear became more than a buzzword but an entire subculture, tying in everything from action sports and video games to William Gibson novels. What was once a relatively small network of internet obsessed anti-fashion diehards transformed into a buzzy search term, with everyone from Arc’teryx to adidas looking to capitalize.

Though some early adopters lament the current status of techwear, the increased popularity and competition has led to some incredible achievements in clothing. Today, your wardrobe is better suited and more well-equipped than ever, and those interested in purchasing a piece no longer have to rely on high priced and difficult to obtain Acronym. Techwear is no longer simply a niche subgroup, but a whole genre of clothing, with dozens of adjacent brands at a range of price points. Though all these labels style themselves as “entire wardrobes for every environment”, outside Acronym—whose pants are particularly sought after—each is best known for its jackets which, conveniently, are the most sought-after techwear items. Rather than have you scour the web for the best options, we have gone ahead and done the work for you. That said, here are the best techwear jackets available right now.