Gucci and The North Face unveil collaboration

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Dec 23, 2020

Famed Italian fashion house Gucci and VF Corporation subsidiary The North Face have unveiled their new collaborative collection, celebrating "the spirit of exploration" in both fashion and the outdoors. 

The collection offers a variety of men's and women's ready-to-wear pieces: from shirts and goose-feather down padded coats to skirts, jumpsuits and silk-twill bowling sets; soft accessories, luggage and a gender-neutral hiking boot, as well as outdoor items like tents and sleeping bags. Colors include bright shades inspired by the 70s and curated from The North Face materials, and floral prints created in partnership with The North Face especially for the collaboration. Luggage includes eight new graphic patterns designed in collaboration with The North Face.

As part of both Gucci and The North Face's commitments to sustainability, the collection's luggage pieces contain Econyl—a nylon fabric sourced from regenerated materials like fish nets and carpets that can be recycled and recreated—and some pieces include archival fabrics. Packaging was also designed with eco-consciousness in mind: all paper and cardboard comes from sustainably managed forest sources and an uncoated paper has been used to ensure it is fully recyclable. To reduce the amount of paper, boxes are equipped with handles to avoid using shopping bags, Gucci said, while larger items come in shopping bags and cotton covers without boxes.

The North Face x Gucci collection will debut in China through a series of specifically designed stores and Gucci Pin pop-up stores, and a limited selection of pieces will also become available on gucci.com.

To promote this new partnership, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele developed a campaign of stills, video, and TikTok content featuring hikers wearing Gucci while exploring the Alps. Shot by Daniel Shea, the campaign "evokes the aesthetic of the 70’s, when The North Face was a thriving outdoor retailer based in Berkeley, CA and shared a factory and storefront adjacent to Credence Clearwater Revival’s practice studio, whose iconic song Bad Moon Rising is featured throughout the video campaign," Gucci said in a press release. 

To further boost the collaboration, several 'Gucci Artwalls'—unique street art installations featuring The North Face x Gucci logo—will be unveiled in five cities, including Hong-Kong, Shanghai, London, New York and Milan. 

Gucci marks the latest brand to bring itself into the outdoors with The North Face this year, joining previous 2020 partners including Supreme—a brand which VF Corp acquired for $2.1 billion on November—MM6 Maison Margiela, Junya Watanabe and Brain Dead.