About to leave the cold days behind, we will remember this winter as one of the hardest in recent times. In matters of clothing, it will probably go down in history as the year in which ski monkeys invaded the streets because of Filomena, thermal shirts became our daily bread if when it came to abandoning home hibernation and hats and gloves took a backseat in favor of protecting and covering the respiratory tract.
Fashion connoisseurs will be able to hone in a bit more evoking the season of digital runway shows and red carpets or the definitive consecration of specific trends and brands. A good example of the latter is The North Face, which, encouraged by a harsher-than-normal winter, made the revival of its iconic Retro Nuptse down jacket (yes, the short logoed puffer jacket you're thinking of) the wardrobe's favorite coat. female (according to Lyst data, it took the top spot in searches). "Its success has to do with a change in consumer habits that has been consolidated in recent months," says Brenda Otero, head of the communication department in Spain for this fashion search engine. “Finding a practical piece of clothing to be able to be outdoors was one of our priorities and The North Face has managed to meet that need with a jacket that is comparatively more affordable than other brands, while also having a retro aesthetic that feels familiar and safe".
Although the triumph of the one baptized by S Moda as the 'Quechua look' (and officially called Gorpcore) had already been brewing since 2017, when firms such as Salomon, Patagonia or The North Face itself descended from the mountain to step on the asphalt, the consecration of the latter hand in hand with his iconic coat has been unstoppable in recent months. His most recent coup was to sign a capsule collection together with one of the most coveted firms in the luxury universe, Gucci, but even before that he had already deployed a whole strategy – controversial and questionable at some points, like that campaign that he supplanted photos from Wikipedia for images of their products – to convince those unfamiliar with climbing or skiing that wearing their clothes around town was the height of cool.
One of the images from the joint collection between Gucci and The North Face. Photo: DR
“If she had done this collaboration with a big chain like H&M, the exchange of attributes between brands would not have been as consistent or beneficial for her, but by doing it with Gucci, The North Face is positioned in the same stratum. It's as if he 'lujified' and became cool. In the end, it is a very premium firm within the sport and this action reinforces it, ”says Patricia SanMiguel, professor of digital marketing at the business school specialized in fashion ISEM. It had previously collaborated with the skaters' favorite firm, Supreme, or with Junya Watanabe, making it clear that the purpose with which its founder, Douglas Tompkins, created the brand in 1968 (to meet the needs of climbers, mountaineers and elite athletes ) is compatible with a much more urban approach.
In fact, at a time when collaborations were rare in the world of fashion, The North Face signed a collection with an almost unknown Apple at the end of the 80s. The same one that reached exorbitant prices in the resale years ago a few years and that Drake wore in 2015, a time in which the rise of the brand to the altars of fashion began to go in crescendo. Going back to the 1980s and 1990s, it was then that The North Face began to be seen in the clothing of the New York rappers of the moment –such as LL Cool J or Method Man– combined with other labels with a sports vocation such as Carhartt, Helly Hansen or Timberlands. The seed of a 'street style' that everyone now wants to show off. And in that 'everyone', both men and women are included, with the unisex air of the American firm's garments being another point that has worked in its favour. The difference between then and now is that their feathers and fleeces have gone from being shields against the cold during filming for actresses like Jennifer Aniston or Halle Berry to a fashion statement for young models and actresses like Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski or Kendall. Jenner.
The model Kendall Jenner with the famous feathers of the brand.
The scandal strategy
In addition to having celebrities in its ranks and working the influencer world on Instagram, The North Face has developed questionable marketing actions. In 2019, the brand edited the Wikipedia images, replacing the photos of infinite places housed in the encyclopedia with others in which their clothes were seen. Far from hiding the action, the brand even published a video in which they described in great detail the impersonation process with the aim of positioning themselves at the top of Google search results. In the video, the firm described the campaign as "innovative" and boasted of having scored such a goal "for free." However, days later Wikipedia came forward making it clear that not only did they have nothing to do with the action, but that it was not "ethical" to take advantage of the principle of community editing on which the encyclopedia is based. After withdrawing it and apologizing, several marketing experts called the campaign "wrong" despite making headlines, media coverage and a lot of noise.
«At the time they launched the campaign, winking at fake news could have a funny point. Or so they must have thought. Sometimes to become a trending topic, brands risk too much with their actions, but they have to be careful not to cross the red line. In any case, this served to generate that debate about whether they had crossed the line or not, "says Patricia SanMiguel. Despite the criticism it received at the time, the popularity of the brand has not only not plummeted, but has not stopped increasing.
One of the images with garments of the brand that they included in Wikipedia without permission.
Patagonia as a reference
A year after that, his strategy turned to much more committed actions. In June 2020, The North Face announced that it would stop advertising on Facebook – and Instagram, also owned by it – in an attempt to boycott the social network accused of promoting racial hate speech. More brands joined this action, including Patagonia, one of its most direct competitors and which on other occasions had been ahead of it on pillars such as sustainability.
"In a way, The North Face looks at Patagonia because it has always had sustainability, a value that is so much in demand now, at its heart of the brand," says SanMiguel. According to the expert, their most recent campaigns –such as She moves mountains, which came to light last year– are focused on showing that they care about the society in which we live and values such as women's rights, care for the environment or diversity . “On Instagram you can see the competition to attract followers from both brands, but at the moment The North Face wins with 4.8 million compared to 4.6 for Patagonia. They both want to be the coolest, but I think at the moment the title is held by The North Face.
The brand, which has shared a group with other sports firms such as Vans since the American VF Corporation bought it when it was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2000, shares with it that cheeky spirit that lives up to its name (the face of the mountain is always the hardest to climb). A philosophy that has led it to become the brand of the group with the highest turnover in Spain, precisely behind Vans. According to the latest available data, the company with which the group operates in our country ended the 2019 financial year with a turnover of 204.9 million euros and a net result of 2.5 million euros.
The Nuptse Retro pens have become the favorite of the 'street style'. Photo: Getty
Tags: Coats|Sports|Fashion brands|The North FaceKeep reading
The Quechua 'look' is in fashion (or why the mountain style is a trend)
Clara Ferrero
