PRESENTED DURING LONDON FASHION WEEK, MM6 | THE NORTH FACE IS AN HAPPY ENDING STORY
Text by Fiammetta Cesana
We’ve long understood that the key word of the new fashion business is collaboration. Between two maisons, between a maison and an artist, or between a maison and a brand that we’d never have thought of as being linkable to glamor (like water)… collaboration is undoubtedly the trend of the trend. It seems that to continue winning in this sea of sharks, made even more insidious by the global health crisis, it is necessary to regularly find a new companion to swim with, temporarily, aiming for a new ‘north’ together. But why make this turn? Isn’t it better to carry on alone? Sometimes, as in novels and in life, even fashion heroes find a ‘perfect match’ to share the route with at least for a while, venturing together into new destinations so that both can enrich their own technique and knowledge. One strengthens the qualities of the other and vice versa. Obviously, this exchange of traveling secrets and features does not always turn out to be the most appropriate move as some collaborations lead inexorably to shipwreck.
Today, however, I am glad to turn this nautical-match metaphor to a story of collaboration with a happy ending. I am talking about the new chapter of the historic French MM6 Maison Margiela which during London Fashion Week presented the Fall Winter 2020 capsule collection made together with the outwear fashion brand The North Face. ‘Capsule collection’ indeed is an expression that immediately sounds as belonging to the world of collaborations, we could actually say that it is its own daughter. And this time the birth truly worth to be celebrated.
The perfect synthesis between the DNA of the two parents-brands is visible at first glance. It is an urban and genderless collection, as modern times demand, colorful, lively and animalier, as the kind of energy we need to face the dark times and reconnect to nature’s harmony, and with a technically refined design, as both couture and functional fashion want. The North Face’s 1990 Expedition System line has been preserving over years exactly that character of precision and modular capacity, with detachable and stackable pieces, which Maison Margiela goes crazy for. While the latter, also conquered by the resistance capacity of the Expedition System’s garments in extreme weather conditions, contributes to the union with its sophistication and ‘circular touch’. The concept of the MM6 circle is in fact transmitted in the capsule collection, where each item, while maintaining the practicality of authentic and performing fabrics, is redesigned with a new, more contemporary silhouette.
This new family, whose ‘crests’ are the enlarged and mirrored logos of the two houses, includes the Hymalayan Coat with hood, the Mountain Kaban cape, the Nuptse down jacket made with recycled feathers and the Denali jacket with zip and fleece insets. With an original lacing system it is also possible to combine the Denali and Nuptse models with the Mountain Kaban.
A real fashion puzzle, surprising and fascinating, where accessories join too, such as scarves and backpacks, equally circular and customizable. They are newborn creations that inspire, enhancing the soul of both collaborators-parents with great precision, without neglecting their most intimate and historical identity. MM6 | The North Face is a bold capsule, full of colors and incredibly wearable. We can really say an engagement with tailwind!
The MM6 capsule | The North Face is available from 8 October 2020 in the main MM6 and The North Face boutiques, in selected multi-brand and e-commerce sites.
