November of 2021 will go down as a big month for Italian luxury brand, Gucci. Not only does the Lady Gaga and Adam Driver-led movie, House of Gucci, release on Black Friday, but the brand has also delivered three high profile collaborations in November. Gucci released new collaborative collections with The North Face, Balenciaga, and Xbox just in time for the holiday season. And while the Balenciaga collection has its fair share of hits, and the Xbox is a blockbuster (and wallet buster), it’s the Gucci x The North Face Padded Jacket that finds itself the subject of this week’s StockX Pick of the Week.
Gucci and The North Face’s collaborative history isn’t very long. Those who follow current culture will remember that these two released their first collaborative collection in January of this year after announcing the partnership in late 2020. The pair’s more recent collaborative delivery is significantly smaller than their previous release but features new versions of what the original collection did best. The November release featured three new Gucci Monogram covered jackets alongside two vests and a restock of some of the apparel dropped in the first collection. These three new jackets are reminiscent of the first collection’s most popular and now-iconic piece, the Gucci x The North Face Print Jacket.
The Gucci x The North Face Padded Jacket was released as a part of the two brands’ second collaborative effort and very closely mirrors the first collection’s Print Jacket. Keen observers will notice the small differences like the Padded Jacket’s adjusted logo placement and details like the visible red-coloured down fill. But both jackets feature the same beige and ebony GG Gucci Monogram canvas with down padding, a similar shape, and a prominent embroidered Gucci x The North Face logo.
Featuring nearly seventy apparel items, Gucci and The North Face’s first release generously delivered co-branded outerwear and apparel through the lens of the maximalist fashion house. While some pieces were more traditional, most outerwear from the collection either was tastefully covered in a Gucci Monogram print or featured large instances of the two brands’ collaborative logo. The January release began with a focus on scarcity, as the collection was made available only at exclusive pop-up locations throughout Europe and Asia, though the collection would later be made available online. As a way to make their original collection feel more accessible, the two brands also partnered with Pokemon GO, making the apparel available to wear on in-game avatars.
If you were a fan of the first collaboration but weren’t able to grab the Gucci x The North Face Print Jacket, this release is just for you. The Padded Jacket is certainly different in several subtle ways but that’s not a bad thing.
The Gucci x The North Face Padded Jacket is available alongside several other jackets from the collection on StockX below.
