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As the seasons shift to cooler temps, The North Face‘s outerwear becomes an inevitable part of countless fall and winter rotations. There’s nothing wrong with sliding into a classic Nuptse or Mountain jacket, of course, but for those seeking something more uncommon — yet still familiar — you’ll have to be in Japan to pick up one of The North Face’s latest and greatest collaborations.
To be sure, there’s some excellent stuff available over here but The North Face Japan kills it when it comes to the exclusives.
From The North Face Purple Label (TNFPL)’s ridiculous GORE-TEX fleece to the earth-toned Denali field jackets it cooked up for UNITED ARROWS’ Beauty & Youth sub-label, there’s a lot of good stuff to be had.
UNITED ARROWS is getting especially fortunate with TNF collabs, actually, having scooped the aforementioned Beauty & Youth layers, special fleeces and quilted jackets for its green label relaxing brand, and even particularly imposing iterations of TNFPL’s hooded SRT DWN parka for UNITED ARROWS’ youthful monkey time collection.
Rival retailers are getting in on the action too, with BEAMS nabbing a fur-hooded Serow down coat for Japan’s branch of Pilgrim Surf + Supply and Ron Herman Japan putting in an order for its own fuzzy Denali rendered in the store’s signature dark navy.
And if that’s somehow not enough North Face love, Kodansha-owned publisher Hot Dog Press has just issued a special magazine dedicated to the history of The North Face, just in time for autumn.
In line with the grand tradition of Japanese magazines, The North Face’s 30 Best Fall/Winter Outerwear Pieces (translated literally) is an in-depth exploration of the outdoor company and some of its most popular products, painstakingly exploring the legacy and design cues of The North Face’s Baltro, Nuptse, Sierra, and other signature pieces.
If these tantalizing exclusives strike your fancy, you could get The North Face Japan’s coolest new drops by using a Japanese proxy service but a lot of them go pretty quickly. Still, it’s the only way to snag these otherwise unattainable grails outside of Japan.
