Junya Watanabe Perfected The North Face's Nuptse As a Patchwork Puffer
Junya Watanabe's collaborative streak is unmatched, even by the standards of parent company COMME des GARÇONS. Seriously, CdG drops a hyped collab every month but Junya might have it beat, pound for pound.
His Fall/Winter 2022 menswear collection, for instance, is one giant Jamiroquai collab, packed with partnerships like Levi's, New Balance, Carhartt, Dickies, and Pendleton.
Even the expansive lookbook couldn't contain every collab that Junya had planned, though, as he's dropping a surprise Nuptse puffer jacket with longtime pal The North Face just in time for cooler weather.
Having already issued an eco-conscious $600 hoodie with TNF, Junya is rejoining the outdoor brand's Japanese branch for a special Nuptse jacket that takes the classic puffer into entirely new terrain.
Junya Watanabe's paneled Nuptse is an archivist's dream, reflecting the recent popularity of Junya's signature patchwork (see Junya's Supreme collab for more).
Unlike previous Junya x TNF endeavors, which realized built-in backpacks, Junya's Nuptse jacket is pure patchwork, realized through layers of quiltlike military drab.
The effect is quite handsome and commands a powerful price: Junya's TNF Nuptse puffer drops November 18 exclusively on ZOZO VILLA's site for ￥209,000 (about $1,500 at current exchange rates).
Now, to be clear, the reason that this team-up with The North Face didn't figure into Watanabe's seasonal lookbook is because it's actually dropping as part of a series of collaborations designed to celebrate the Nuptse jacket's 30th anniversary in 2022.
As a man obsessed with heritage — sometimes so much so that his fastidious homages read as painfully straightforward — Junya Watanabe is the best designer that TNF Japan parent Goldwin could've tapped to kick off the festivities.
In the West, The North Face has remastered and tweaked various iterations of its Nuptse as part of the jacket's anniversary — and there's that one KAWS collab, of course — but it'll be hard to top whatever other talent TNF Japan is bringing in for the special Nuptse drops it's planning for year's end.
We already know the crazy good stuff that TNF Japan is capable of from its other recent collabs, The North Face Purple Label, and even the in-line stuff: who knew maternity gear could look so cool?
