Isaora Inspiration Trip

On the road with Ricky and Mark of Isaora from Seattle to Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Joshua Tree, Nike HQ… with a pitstops at the W Hotels along the way. Is it seriously Wednesday already? If you've been keeping up with The Coveteur, you'll know that this Wednesday in particular marks the second of our "W Hotel Wednesdays" series, this time featuring Jake's West Coast jaunt with Marc and Ricky of ISAORA. Lets get to it, shall we?When asked why the West Coast, the design duo explained how, wanting to avoid the usual stops like Los Angeles, they were instead drawn to San Diego, Portland and San Francisco's grand and dramatic landscape, and how they knew landmarks like the Joshua Tree were sure to inspire. As for the dramatic shifts in weather and temperature (from sunshine to snow and back again!)? Marc and Ricky thought that the Coast's changing climates would be the perfect setting to showcase the versatility of the brand, and their aesthetic's emphasis on the outdoors—one that will surely make more than a few appearances in their next collection.After checking in and getting in a few winks over at the W Seattle, we piled into our Mercedes Sprinter (well-equipped with Wifi and Apple TV, bien sûr) and drove up to Mt. Baker for a full day of snowboarding. After getting one more sleep in at the W's Seattle outpost, with Marc and Ricky cozy into their merino wool onesies, we were on the road again, making our way over to Portland. After grabbing lunch at Canteen, we headed over to the Nike campus, where the gang spent a day drooling over the latest Frees and Runs and hanging out around Lake Nike. That night, we went a little rogue and camped out, drinking beer around the fire. The next morning, with a full day of driving ahead of us, we made our way over to the coast, making a pit stop at an Air Museum along the way—boys and their toys, right?—before eventually pulling over and setting up shop for the night.After waking up to pouring rain, we found ourselves at Redwood National Park, where we hiked a couple of miles through the park's tree sanctuary; which is only home to the largest-known tree in the world. No big deal, right? After winding down, it was on the road again another 12 hours (yes, really) to get to San Fran. Driving through twisty, winding mountainside roads in the pouring rain, Marc and Ricky kicked back and took in movies in the back. We eventually hit the Golden Gate bridge around 1AM, shortly after which we found our ways to the haven of the W San Francisco. Lets just say warm beds kind of beat the cold, hard ground, okay?The next few days saw Marc and Ricky getting down to business—showing off new samples from their SUR-FOR-WRD collaboration with pal Thomas Meyerhoffer, and hosting an event for their San Fran pals. After days-long debate about hitting up Mammoth Mountain, we finally headed off, and were rewarded with a perfect day of riding the slopes. After winding down with a round of beers as a snowstorm rolled in, we headed back to the van only to find out that it was, ahem, dead. After getting a jump start from a local (moustache, red jumpsuit and all!) we took a nighttime drive up to the Joshua Tree. After camping out around a dried-out desert lake, we woke up to the perfect (albeit slightly creepy) morning, and decided to spend the day out taking in the scenery.We rolled out of Joshua Tree park, driving our last stretch to the W San Diego with the sun setting behind us in the distance (kind of perfect, no?). We arrived around midnight, and after a quick nightcap on the breathtaking rooftop patio, it was time for bed. Our final day brought Isaora's Fashion Week event in San Diego, where we hung out with the show's crew all day, before a final photo op down by the pier with the sun setting, before heading off to the airport to go our separate ways.Next stop? Russia!