Apparel
Founded in 2019.
Built on 60 years of engineering & adventure.
Established with the purpose of connecting people with the natural world, Arksen Apparel is rooted in purposeful adventure. Our founder, Jasper Smith, grew up immersed in this environment—shaped by the technical design of his father, Ron Smith, and the creative passion of his mother, filmmaker and photographer Tina Tranter.
It was Ron’s love for the first civilian prototype of the Mini Moke that set their story in motion. He brought that vehicle off the production line and drove it over the Alps to the sun-drenched roads of Calabria in Southern Italy with Tina and their newborn son, Jasper. With the wind in their hair and Jasper riding in the back in a cardboard box, the family’s journey became the blueprint for everything Arksen stands for today.
Equipping adventure
After a decade of mountaineering, climbing and sailing around the world, Jasper had seen first-hand the transformative power of adventure. He believes that through adventure we find our most playful, engaged and fulfilled selves.
During a life-changing expedition to Greenland, amidst the awe-inspiring landscapes and the haunting sounds of one of the wildest yet fragile places on Earth, Arksen was born. A company committed to developing High-performance products for a new generation of explorers, left underserved by legacy brands.
Gear you can depend on
Our apparel is precision-engineered to provide ultimate protection for an ever-changing environment. We are setting new standards for advanced performance wear, delivering extreme capability and durability with reduced environmental impact.
Our UK-based team works with the world’s most advanced sustainable materials suppliers to create products that are resilient and recyclable. And because we help repair any accidental damage, and offer a lifetime warranty, our garments will literally last you forever.
Scientifically proven
We carry our engineering heritage into every stitch. By seeking out innovative fabrics we create layers that balance high-performance with circular design.
Our collections are built to be pushed to the limit—to be worn, washed, and weathered, time and again, without ever failing the wearer
Designed for evolution
Exploration-ready outerwear and layering systems, technically engineered for exceptional comfort and capability in every environment. Arksen’s high-performance apparel products are honed from a heritage of marine innovation and developed with the desire to enable purposeful adventure.
Rich textures, rugged materials and responsible production methods combine to create clothing that encourages a culture of play – so you can push boundaries, fuel your curiosity and gain a deeper and richer connection to the natural world.
Protecting our future
Environmental stewardship is our number one priority. We design for minimum planetary impact, collaborate only with responsible manufacturing partners and have partnered with FuturePlus to make our impact trackable.
We design for full lifecycles, providing a comprehensive repair service and lifetime warranty to keep worn or accidentally damaged products from being needlessly discarded. And at end of usable life, we have recycling processes in place to re-purpose the raw material.
Setting the standards
Arksen has partnered with FuturePlus, a sustainability, environmental & social governance reporting platform that makes managing social and environmental impact trackable.
FuturePlus qualifies our sustainability achievements before quantifying and translating them into a trackable action plan to help us deliver our sustainable development goals.Its indicators are made up of over 200 questions that will enable us to take practical, incremental steps towards sustainability by focusing on five themes: Climate, Economic, Diversity & Inclusion, Social and Environment.
Supporting the oceans
Arksen was born from the sea and the Ocean is our north star. This incredible biosphere produces 80% of the oxygen we breathe and supports 94% of the planet’s species yet attracts just 0.6% of all charitable donations.
To change that, we started 10% for the Ocean and are now working with private individuals and organisations to increase those donations to 10% over the next decade.