From our special envoy in the hype,
Walking the streets of Paris in the greyness of this month of March, one would think that half of the population of the capital is preparing to climb Mont-Blanc in the evening. But most of the people you meet have no plans to climb the peaks, just the desire to follow fashion by proudly wearing a down jacket. And in the game of padded jackets, one particularly stood out: the North Face down jacket, particularly the 1992 and 1996 models, which correspond to their year of creation.
We now come across it more in the city than in the mountains, and the garment, basic intended for the initiated, has become the ba-ba of a clothes successful, thirty years after its release. But how did this North Face down jacket (re)impose itself in our wardrobes?
The love of the mountains and the “outdoor”
Let’s already look at the return of the down jacket in general, which has relegated jackets, leather jackets and other outdated coats to the bottom of the hold. For Thomas Zylberman, fashion expert at the Carlin International trend office, “the down jacket is the most recent incarnation of the influence of sport in our fashions. » You could not miss this influence for fifteen years, symbolized by the sneaker, passed from sports shoe to city shoe.
And in recent years, this sport/city bridge has evolved more specifically. “We are moving from a streetwear trend and the influence of sport to a fascination for physical activity outdoors, and in particular the mountains, offbeat in a city locker room”, continues the expert. Hence the success of the North Face, which cultivates this imagination: a founder, Douglas Tompkins, a convinced environmental activist and products initially intended for nature and only nature.
The old class
Added to this is the simple story of the cycle of life and fashion, according to Pierre-Louis Desprez, managing director of Kaos, a firm specializing in innovation and brands. First a product is new. Then it gets old – understand corny. Then with enough time, luck, and effective design, it gets to the “old” stage. And an old garment, unlike an old garment, “it’s trendy”.
Especially since wearing the old can have a strong symbolic message: the refusal of the new just for the new. “There is a contestation of globalization and a critique of fast fashion by adopting an old product. This gives a clear conscience for a generation preoccupied with ecology”, develops Pierre-Louis Desprez. Same observation with Sophie Malagola, fashion designer and former director of collections at DIM and Etam: “The rare modifications compared to the model of thirty years ago are technical, with for example changes of more effective materials. In fact, the North Face exudes authenticity, not mere fashion. By wearing it, you belong more to a community of adventurers, even if you don’t climb yourself, than to a fashion community. »
A social totem
The fact of having survived the decades even pleads in its favour, according to Sophie Malagola: “It shows its practicality, its adaptability and its quality. His seniority is a sort of guarantee guarantee”. And that’s good, because the North Face was designed for that: to survive the passage of time.
“The down jacket becomes a totem of society, like the bic pen or the Levi’s 501 jeans. It is a product designed not to correspond to an era, but to all eras”, develops Pierre-Louis Desprez. Sophie Malagola also explains the success of the North Face by its apparent sobriety: “It has a catch-all side. Even with a down jacket, we determine our silhouette differently. It’s not going to prevail over the rest of our outfit, and I can affirm my own style while wearing that as well. No wonder, moreover, that it is the black version of the brand that we see the most.
Between timeless and fashion
Timeless, the down jacket, always it, also meets certain criteria of our time, develops Thomas Zylberman: “It fits well with the very exaggerated aesthetics that we see on social networks. It allows you to wear a very colorful garment, with amplified shapes, without it being shocking. We will gladly put on a flashy red or yellow down jacket, minus a coat or jacket of the same color. »
Last – but not least. “It’s still a very practical piece of clothing in terms of warmth, you shouldn’t forget that”, reminds Sophie Malagola. No need to climb Everest to want to be warm. And if in addition it is fashionable…