The North Face Purple Label Is Turning Mountain Gear Preppy
Once again, The North Face Purple Label (or TNFPL for short) has brought together two worlds that, on paper, are pretty disparate.
On the one side, you have prep, an American export that consists of items like button-down shirts, penny loafers, and tailored blazers. While on the other you have function-focused mountain gear.
You might not think there's immediately a huge amount of crossover between the two but The North Face Purple Label is here to prove you wrong with its Spring/Summer 2024 capsule: The Mountain Ivy.
The collection sees The North Face's Japan-exclusive line put an Ivy League-inspired spin on its retro outdoor gear.
Across the collection, you can find field jackets made from quick-drying denim to match wide-legged field pants made from corduroy or denim complete with an integrated belt since this is mountain wear, after all.
There are also baggy sweats styled together with button-down shirts peaking from beneath them, another example of The North Face Purple Label's excellent styling as well as its toying with American fashion staples.
Continuing a longstanding tradition of Japanese brands doing American preppy fashion better than those who invented it (check out the book Ametora for the lowdown on that phenomenon), last season we questioned whether TNFPL's appeal is too niche for audiences outside of Japan.
The brand doesn't make as much noise outside of Japan as it did four years ago, but international hype isn't going to make The North Face Purple Label change its ways.
This SS24 collection, which is available online now, is the brand very much sticking to its guns and, at the same time, blending prep with mountain wear in a way that it only TNF can do.
