The North Face X Gucci might seem like an unlikely match to the casual observer, but a deeper exploration shows that these seemingly disparate brands have more than a couple of common threads between them. In fact, exploration is exactly what they share. And it is exploration that has brought the outdoors wear company and high-fashion house together for this exciting collaboration.

The North Face X Gucci Collaboration

Since 1968, The North Face has helped adventurous souls explore the wonder and majesty of the natural world and the limits of the human mind-body. With high-quality active, weatherproof garments the brand has helped support inspired hikers, bikers, and campers for half a century. For longer still, Gucci has explored shape, colour, feel and gender, so often questing beyond boundaries and into unchartered expressive terrain. In the same way that The North Face supports those who adventure in natural terrains, it could be said that Gucci does the same for those who adventure in stylistic ones.

We understand that people are multifaceted, however, and so do these brands. What's to say that someone who enjoys hiking and camping can't also love big-city living and high fashion? Now, it's possible to have one outfit to suit both needs.

With this collab’s one-of-a-kind adventure wear available worldwide in pop-ups and in-store, now is the perfect time to get excited and get ready to explore with The North Face X Gucci.

The North Face X Gucci Hype

Just in case you missed it, Gucci first announced this collab back in September of 2020 with a short clip on Instagram. The clip tantalised audiences worldwide with a small, beige flag adorned with a cross-bred North Face and Gucci emblem, fluttering in a mountain breeze for just a few seconds. In typical Gucci fashion, there was just enough info released to make people curious but not enough to actually explain what the video was all about.

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Ever since the video was posted, everyone who is anyone in the fashion world has been reporting, speculating and agonising over the what, where, wear, and most importantly, when of the North Face X Gucci collaboration.

And thankfully, what has come lived up to—and some might even say, exceeded—expectations.

The North Face X Gucci Line

First launched on January 8th, shoppers in Sydney and Melbourne were delighted and dazzled by the latest of The North Face x Gucci, displayed in what the brand termed Gucci Pins: a pop-up tent-like store with a design that looks like it fell off of Tim Burton’s concept pin-board. "Gucci Pins capsule campaign draws customers to physical spaces, safely, to experience nature just outside our doorsteps and the feeling of finding something special along the way," Forbes reports. "The North Face x Gucci collaboration invigorates the retail business to where it was pre-pandemic."

The excitement went far beyond the display of the line, however, extending into what we can only imagine will become a new niche in fashion. Gucci has already proven that t-shirts can be great, but The North Face x Gucci cements the concept of high-activewear-fashion—perhaps even leaning into what could be termed technical-fashion.

With the durability of The North Face combined with the panache of Gucci, it's easy to see how high-quality design and style can mingle to create an inspiring synthesis of both.

The collab's ankle boot is the perfect example. With a classic hiking boot silhouette, it looks like a shoe that you could traipse around in for hours without ever getting a blister. Of course, thanks to Gucci, the practicality doesn't sacrifice the style. In fact, the shoe somehow looks even cooler because of the retro logo of The North Face printed on the side.

The backpacks also highlight a meeting of form and function, with The North Face's practical shapes and materials paired with Gucci's bright patterns and colours. We don't know how, but somehow, it just seems to make sense. Plus, there's no denying that it's much easier to lug around a laptop, gym gear, water, food etc. in a functional pack as opposed to a handbag.

It's hard to argue with a line that is both astonishingly beautiful and ultra-practical. Here's hoping this is the start of a whole new type of design. If you're feeling inspired, scroll on to see more from the line.