Here’s Your First Look At The North Face x Gucci

After a teaser video showing a single “The North Face x Gucci” tent flag blowing in the breeze dropped in September, the collaboration of the season has finally landed. And boy, is it good. The campaign for the menswear and womenswear – plus the outdoor recreation pieces, such as tents and sleeping bags, that transport Gucci into The North Face’s world – takes us back to the ’70's.

Back then, the American retailer was changing the leisure-meets-technical performance wear game from its Berkeley, California, headquarters, which were adjacent to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music studio. Accordingly, the American rock band’s song “Bad Moon Rising” lends the Daniel Shea-shot video nostalgic flair as Gucci models go adventuring in their hybrid looks.

So, what of the clothes? The collection is a logo enthusiast’s dream. The North Face has adapted its quarter-circle stamp, which pays homage to the famous granite Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, to include Gucci’s green-red-green stripe. The branding is splashed all over peppy padded coats, quilted jackets and windbreakers, which are based on archival The North Face outerwear silhouettes and realised in ’70s-inspired colourways. Skirts, coords, sweaters and shirts come in a bunch of floral prints conceived especially for the collaboration, and in line with both brand’s sustainable policies.

The tie-up plays into the post-pandemic appetite for “the essential”, which Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele touched upon during his “radical” restructure of the house’s output in May. Michele has previously shared his love of the great outdoors via Gucci’s Off The Grid capsule, comprised of recycled, organic, bio-based and sustainably sourced materials and modelled by Jane Fonda and Lil Nas X in a tree house. Its pre-fall 2020 campaign, entitled So Deer To Me, followed in the footsteps of its previous animal-populated photo shoots and featured deers, fawns, owls, bluebirds, skunks, squirrels, frogs, ducks and rabbits.

“We are a big brand, so we have a responsibility to take care of our industry,” Michele explained of the house shift towards “fashion that has a longer life”. Spreading this message by linking up with another household-name brand in a different field is a smart move. Gucci is a major step up from The North Face’s previous fashion tie-ups with brands including Junya Watanabe, Supreme and Maison Margiela.

Look out for Gucci art walls in London, which will celebrate the meeting of two brilliant brands – and two iconic logos – ahead of its release at Selfridges on 4th January.