For Andrea Jiapei Li, the lines between the city and the outdoors have never felt more fluid. Through Amiche Alpine, Andrea embraces that overlap, creating womenswear that balances technical performance with softness, versatility, and a distinctly feminine perspective.

In our conversation, Andrea reflects on the experiences that shaped the brand, her approach to design, and why clothing should support not only how we move through the world, but how we feel while doing so.

I’m a New York–based designer working across fashion and performance/outdoor design. I founded Amiche Alpine as an independent womenswear project centered around outdoor aesthetics, femininity, and community. It explores the space between city and nature through versatile womenswear that combines technical functionality with femininity and emotional connection.

Amiche Alpine is meant to be rooted in community, especially among women drawn to outdoor aesthetics and lifestyles.

As someone who has long loved the outdoors, I often felt that women were not really centered in the conversation. By choosing the feminine and plural form of the word “friends,” we wanted to communicate that women are the main audience and starting point for us.

More than anything, the name reflects the sense of openness and connection we hope the brand creates.

In many ways, the outdoor influence has always been part of my design language.

When I first started my namesake label Andrea Jiapei Li, I was already incorporating functional details, utility elements, and sportswear-inspired constructions into my work. I’ve always been drawn to clothing that feels active, adaptable, and lived in.

At the same time, living in New York naturally led me deeper into the outdoors through hiking, kayaking, and weekend trips away from the city. Over time, those personal experiences naturally merged with the design language I had already been exploring for years.

It comes from our belief that outdoor clothing and fashion are not mutually exclusive. With Amiche Alpine, we want to create pieces that feel versatile both functionally and aesthetically - something that can work just as naturally on a hike as it does in the city.

I don’t really see them as opposing ideas. To me, functionality and femininity can absolutely coexist - functionality and softness, protection and elegance.

A lot of the process is about finding materials and constructions that support movement, comfort, and performance, while still allowing the garment to feel refined, versatile, and emotionally engaging.

At the end of the day, I see clothing as something that supports people in the way they want to live, so bringing together technical materials with softer, more feminine silhouettes has always felt like a very organic part of my design approach.

Absolutely. I think clothing can shape how people move through the world emotionally, not just physically.

Outdoor apparel has traditionally focused heavily on utility and performance, which are obviously important, but I also think women want to feel like themselves in these spaces - confident, expressive, comfortable, feminine, or however they personally define that.

With Amiche Alpine, we think a lot about how clothing can encourage people to feel more open to exploration, movement, and experiences, whether that’s in nature or everyday life.

Through Amiche Alpine, I hope to contribute a different perspective and provide more choices for women like myself, who genuinely need the functionality of outdoor clothing in their daily lives across both city and nature, but who also don’t want to sacrifice femininity or sophistication in the way they dress.

I think there’s a growing group of women looking for that balance, and it’s exciting to be part of that conversation.

The Soft-Weave Long-Sleeve Top probably captures it best.

It’s a knitwear piece that combines our self-developed technical knitted pattern, functional detailing with a silhouette that feels soft, feminine, and versatile. It’s a piece that can move across very different settings naturally, which is really at the core of how we think about design.

I’m definitely a mountain and lake person.

On weekends I often find myself hiking in upstate New York, kayaking with my dog Luna, or simply cooking a simple meal while enjoying the view by a lake. I genuinely enjoy both city life and the outdoors, and feel lucky that I get to experience both.

The outdoors gives me a change of scenery and headspace away from New York City, and creatively it’s often where I feel observant and inspired.

I hope people discover something they may have been missing in their wardrobe - pieces that feel versatile both practically and emotionally.

Beyond the products themselves, I hope people resonate with the aesthetic and feel inspired to go out and live their lives more freely, whether that’s in the city or outdoors.

We’re currently working on Collection 2, which is a continuation and expansion of Collection 1. The goal is to gradually build a more complete, year-round wardrobe that can serve as a foundation for what’s still to come.

Beyond clothing, we also really see Amiche Alpine as a platform for connection and dialogue. Meeting like-minded people along the way has honestly been one of the most rewarding parts of building the brand so far.

Thank you to Andrea for taking the time to share her perspective with us. You can explore Amiche Alpine’s latest collection and follow the brand’s journey on Instagram as it continues to evolve.