Too Many Pockets, Not Enough Trout—The Rise of Anglercore

From riverbanks to the city

By now, you’ve probably seen it: the person across from you at the café, wearing a mesh vest with more pockets than a hiking backpack, layered over a technical shell and topped with a broad-brimmed nylon hat. They’re not headed to a river. They’re not even dressed for rain. And yet, they’re unmistakably part of the latest fashion trend this season: anglercore.

Anglercore, also known as the fisherman aesthetic, is one of this year’s most unlikely but increasingly dominant style movements. It combines high-function fishing gear with streetwear silhouettes and luxury sensibilities.

ALSO READ: The Future of Menswear Looks a Lot Like India’s Past

Think high-end waders paired with breezy linen overshirts, fly-fishing vests layered over tanks and slouchy trousers, and waterproof hats worn not for shelter but as statement pieces. The mood is coastal utility meets urban irony. And right now, it’s everywhere.

Two currents, one trend

What started as a slow creep into menswear, showing up in lookbooks and independent labels over the past two years, has now solidified into a recognizable movement. Anglercore has split into two parallel paths.

One takes a nautical-inspired approach, with breezy striped shirts, wide-legged chinos, oversized knits, and weathered raincoats. The palette is sun-faded: off-white, seafoam, navy, or ochre. It feels yacht-adjacent, linen-forward, and tied to an affluent nonchalance once seen in old coastal resort towns.

The other path is more literal. It leans fully into fly-fishing equipment: cropped technical vests, quick-drying shirts, performance waders, and polarized sunglasses. Both heritage and contemporary brands have embraced the look. Some are collaborating with actual angling outfitters to produce functional fashion pieces, while others mimic the aesthetic without the performance specs.

Function fetish?

At its core, anglercore reflects fashion’s ongoing fascination with functionality. It is clothing that suggests a life of action and purpose, even if the wearer has never stepped outside city limits.

In that sense, it belongs to a lineage that includes gorpcore, which turned outdoor gear into everyday wear; lumbersexuality, which romanticized the bearded flannel era; and quiet luxury, which favors subtle signs of wealth over overt branding. But anglercore introduces a new twist. It is more obscure, more specific, and more niche in origin.

Men’s fashion, in particular, is driven by a current obsession with authenticity. There is a growing reverence for clothing rooted in real work, not symbolic labor. Pieces like the fly-fishing vest were not conceived in design studios but evolved slowly on rivers, refined over decades to serve a specific purpose. That utilitarian credibility is exactly what makes them so appealing today.

This helps explain the appeal of certain odd-looking items. The square-cut vests with shearling patches were originally used to hold flies. The breathable waders come with built-in belts and sealed seams to prevent hypothermia. The oversized chest pockets were designed to hold an entire tackle box. These pieces may look slightly absurd on the subway, but their original function gives them credibility that goes beyond aesthetics.

A longing for the analog

Fashion’s appetite for anglercore has also been fueled by the industry’s broader shift toward slow living. Coastal nostalgia, countryside aesthetics, and the rise of functional escapism all contribute to its appeal.

This is the idea of dressing as if you might leave the city at any moment. The fisherman look feels in step with the times. There is a collective longing, shaped by the post-pandemic mood and the ongoing climate crisis, for something analog and tactile. Fishing, whether real or imagined, fits that need.

Will it last? Probably not in its current form. The more literal pieces such as vests, waders, and mosquito-proof jackets may be cycled out by next season. But the impulse behind anglercore is harder to shake. Fashion will continue to borrow from technical design, from forgotten labor, and from practical clothing made poetic by time and distance. The next iteration is likely already taking shape somewhere.

For now, we are a society in mesh vests. We are a culture of imagined rivers. And we have, somehow, fallen for the fantasy of fishing.

Photos courtesy Dsquared2, Stan, Junya Watanabe, Undercover, White Mountaineering