Thanks to Gucci’s North Face Collab, Going Outside Has Never Looked Better
Back in September, all it took was a couple seconds of mountain peaks, blaring alpine horns, and a flag whipping in the wind to put the fashion world on notice. Of
course, it helped that the flag bore the logos of Gucci and the North Face. Such is the power of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci collaborating with another brand for the first time in the designer’s tenure. Since Michele took the reins in 2015, his Gucci has worked with artists and designers like GucciGhost and Dapper Dan, but never directly with another brand. The teasing TikToks were merely a preview to a collection that lives up to the hype.
The designer’s maximalist style makes for a happy marriage with a brand made for the outdoors, as the collab's new Daniel Shea campaign shows. The resulting clothes, shoes, and bags steal patterns from the very environment they’re made for: whole meadows of flowers inspired by North Face patterns from the ‘70s explode on puffer jackets, backpacks, and dresses.
There’s plenty of range here—an upcoming camping trip would require hardly anything more than what’s packed in here. There are leather hiking boots with soles chunky enough to survive the elements (should you be able to stomach tracking your new Gucci shoes through mud and rivers). The collaboration even includes sleeping bags and a tent covered in a smashed-together logo that’s drunk on retro funk. Pity the glamper without it.