NOTRE HISTOIRE
Share your nature
“Share your nature”
celebrates nearly 100 years of sharing the great outdoors.
As our world and community evolve, so does Lafuma. Acting as a link between past and present, our brand identity has been reconsidered for the future. Inspired by its historical roots, it clearly reasserts our message, our worlds, our graphic line, to create a common base. Our guideline remains the same: since our creation, nature is the reason why we’re here. ‘Share your nature’ celebrates nearly 100 years of sharing the great outdoors.
“Share your experience”
“Share your nature” is an invitation to share the great outdoors and create tomorrow’s memories today. Hiking, trekking, bikepacking, sleeping under the stars… The spirit is more important than the means. For Lafuma, the outdoor experience, even more unforgettable when shared, comes before performance.
“Respect nature”
“Share your nature” is as much a duty as it is a responsibility towards the future generations. A truly intergenerational brand, Lafuma protects nature today and will therefore hand it over tomorrow. This pioneering DNA still guides our actions and motivates our innovations. More than a road map, this is a philosophy.
“Be yourself”
“Share your nature” finally invites us to share our personality, be ourselves, be authentic, without pretending. For Lafuma, simplicity itself is activism in a soft way. A manifest celebrating the essential, it praises spontaneity as well.
From 1930 to today
A brand dear to French hearts
In 1930, three brothers – Alfred, Victor and Gabriel Lafuma – created a namesake brand in their small workshop in Anneyron, Drôme county, southeast France. By inventing the metal frame, they revolutionised the backpack. This model, used by France’s first recipients of paid leave, became the icon of a new carefree spirit and was a feature of early leisure activities. This background has earned it a special place in the hearts of French people and of adventurers the world over.
In the collective unconscious, Lafuma is a maker of memories: it’s Grandfather’s pack, the schoolchild’s pencil case, the gear for families’ first camping trips... Lafuma is an inter-generational storyteller and a reminder of good times shared.
Over the years, the Lafuma brothers expanded their expertise to camping furniture, clothing and footwear. Now based in Annecy, the team revisits the collections while retaining the savoir-faire that brought the brand international renown. Though never backward-looking, Lafuma builds bridges between past and present while focusing strongly on the future.
A technical legacy
The mountains were Lafuma’s very first playground, and mountaineering history reflects the brand’s pioneering flair for equipment. In 1953, its famous “Tyrolean” backpack ascended Everest on Sherpa Tensing’s back. Aged 39 at the time, this Nepali was the first man, with Edmund Hillary, to reach the mythical summit via the Tibetan south face.
In the technical department, seasoned alpinists have also assisted Lafuma in developing its products. To name but one: Gaston Rebuffat, a leading light of French-style mountaineering, who was long Lafuma’s chief technical adviser.
Today, Lafuma designs its collections for adventures both ordinary and extraordinary. We all have our own Everest.
But the curve of a garment, the details of a backpack or the sketch of a boot always conveys the technical performance and stringent standards that mountain environments demand.
Values rooted in history
Since 1930, we have revisited our collection and updated our products. Our values, however, have stayed the same: authenticity, sharing and accessibility are at the heart of our daily work. In the 1990s, we embraced two further values: protecting our playgrounds, and raising awareness of the need to enjoy leisure responsibly. We share this vision with each member of our community, mindful of offering future generations the inspirational feeling of the great outdoors.
This background has fostered our taste for adventures – and whether they are ordinary or extraordinary, in the mountains or the city, and in daily life or on your travels, Lafuma is your loyal companion, inviting you to take off: “Share your nature”.
