The North Face x Aimé Leon Dore – A refined outdoors capsule from two New York favorites, balancing tactile luxury with field-minded function, lands September 19.
The North Face x Aimé Leon Dore Reimagined for the City
The North Face and Aimé Leon Dore meet where city grit brushes up against alpine logic. The result is a collection that reads as urban uniform first and expedition kit second, without losing sight of why these pieces mattered in the first place.
Visually, the story is texture and restraint. The headline is a Nuptse Jacket cut in Casentino wool. The fabric’s looped surface has a quiet hum to it, and here it is treated with a ratinatura finish for warmth and water resistance. The familiar baffles get a tactile upgrade, paired with a matching hat that turns the silhouette into a full statement. The Denali Jacket follows in all-nylon and is designed as a windproof suit, also matched with a hat. It keeps the line clean and the hand slick, a commuter’s shield with heritage lines.
The wild card is a Firefighter Jacket rendered with three-layer waterproof technology. It borrows practical cues from both the North Face Mountain Jacket and the Base Camp Duffel. Think D-rings at the sleeves for clipping, and ballistic nylon overlays where abrasion usually wins. It reads like street kit, sounds like gear when the hardware clinks, and slots into a city that often feels like it’s moving at emergency pace.
Accessories drop in on both sides of the spectrum. The Nylon Borealis Backpack leans classic TNF, while a Leather North Dome Rope Bag pulls climbing culture into a dressier register. On foot, the Verto Alpine Shoes arrive in leather. The silhouette is known for performance, and leather shifts its mood toward daily wear without erasing its intent.
Aimé Leon Dore has built its universe on New York storytelling, with an eye for how classic sportswear, café tailoring, and neighborhood memory can sit at the same table. This project filters The North Face’s archive through that lens. The materials choices are assertive but not loud. The references are specific but never costume. Even the firefighter nod lands as lived-in rather than novelty, a salute to a city icon that doubles as a technical brief.
Culturally, the collaboration slots into an already busy corridor where outdoor labels and fashion heavyweights exchange ideas. The North Face has done this dance with Gucci, Supreme, and Junya Watanabe. ALD understands how to translate function into lifestyle without sanding off the details that make purists care. That is why this pairing feels inevitable. It is also why the line avoids parody and finds utility in polish.
In the market, expect a clean split in reactions. Performance traditionalists will question wool on a Nuptse, even with ratinatura, and side-eye leather on an alpine shoe. City wearers will appreciate the warmth, the hand feel, and the way these pieces collapse the gap between commute and weekend. Collectors will note the hardware and overlays on the Firefighter Jacket. Everyone will note that distribution is selective. The capsule releases September 19 at Aimé Leon Dore’s site and New York and London stores, and at The North Face locations in Asia.
There is a small point of housekeeping worth clarifying. The collaboration spans a wider sixteen-piece lineup, while six hero items anchor the narrative: the Nuptse and Denali sets, the Firefighter Jacket, the Nylon Borealis Backpack, the Leather North Dome Rope Bag, and the Verto Alpine Shoes. The balance is what counts. The fabrics and finishes carry the ALD mood. The structures remain TNF.
The North Face x Aimé Leon Dore does not reinvent the cold-weather wheel. It gives familiar shapes new surfaces and puts New York’s winter on notice. The drop hits September 19. The season will take care of the rest.
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