A The North Face and Engineered Garments collaboration should've blown everyone's socks off, simultaneously. Just think about the hype born of a single patchworked Arc'teryx jacket — a complete collection of mismatched puffers, parkas, and fleeces would've been the new hotness.

Instead, we got a nice shoe. Not complaining, just saying.

For The North Face Japan — which, yes, is a wholly separate entity from the VF Corp-owned TNF — Engineered Garments remixed the Vectiv Forward running sneaker into something quite suave. The Vective Forward Engineered Garments (also called the Vective Forward Easy) is a beautifully beefy runner fitted with a removable lace cap that allows it to be worn as a sort of slip-on.

Cool idea, cool execution, cool silhouette that looks even cooler in a single monochrome shade.

But it ain't the TNF x EG collaboration we all know could've come to be.

It's a pretty crazy collab, for one, because EG already dabbles in outdoorsy trail-y gear — its UNIQLO collabs are famous for their fleece — and you don't often see TNF link with established labels like this. It does recall the glory days of TNF HYKE, by far the coolest TNF collaboration ever designed.

As such, I'm left wanting more. Just think about how good it'd have been for EG to apply its archetypal mismatched design lingo to TNF staples. You already have the perfect shapes, just add the visual flair.

At least the door is open to something down the road, right?

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