watch the gucci + the north face stellar collaboration documentary

to close a historic year, gucci and the north face announced their first collaboration in december 2020. the italian fashion house and the ultrawarm outwear brand teamed up for a collection that celebrates the spirit of exploration, blending gucci’s maximalist designs with the north face’s winter jackets. to promote the new partnership, gucci’s creative director alessandro michele conceived a campaign shot in the alps together with a short documentary showcasing the motivation behind the collection and the new product shots.

images by daniel shea
video by sean vegezzi

the documentary, which was shot in the alps mountain range, as well as in rome, sierra and new york, features interviews with alessandro michele, gucci’s creative director; david whetstone, the north face design manager global collaborations, archives and special projects; nina williams, professional rock climber; and artist post AOW. in the film, the connection between nature and human beings is explored, delving into the idea of adventure. ‘there is a big mistake, made by many, in telling the story of man as a separate or isolated element from nature,’ says alessandro michele on the documentary. ‘we are nature and nature is us.’

to celebrate the collection, gucci also unveiled the collection’s motifs on the gucci art walls in five different cities — milan, new york, hong kong, shanghai and london. ‘it is a well acknowledged notion that travel leads to self-discovery, and in this conviction the north face is aligned with gucci, which similarly empowers people in their quest to celebrate and express their own characters and personalities, embedding alessandro michele’s approach toward fashion as a powerful instrument of freedom,’ gucci said.

‘when two disparate brands come together, the goal is to expose people from the other set to a new idea and a new sort of way of thinking,’ comments david whetstone, collaborations, archives, and special projects at the north face.

project info:

name: gucci + the north face