"Lately I've been getting lost when I've been out, because it's all north"
Similar trend memes we can also hear a lot, used to ridicule The North Face's down jacket in the country, everyone rushed to wear the same style, quite two years ago "all evil" trend.
Therefore, a hot word was born, "all the north".
Also because most of the people wearing it are young people and school students, The North Face down jacket has also been jokingly called "school uniform".
Take a turn around the campus, five steps north.
In addition to the jokes, people can't help but wonder, there are so many down brands, why is the north becoming the school uniform of Chinese young people, so hot?
In fact, before The North Face, there was another brand of down jackets that were also Chinese school uniforms, and I think everyone guessed that, yes, it was Canada Goose.
However, it is more accurate to say that it is the "international student uniform".
Before entering China, tens of thousands of Canada geese were an expensive and rare luxury for many ordinary people, and many international students who went to North America to study well-off families became the identity of their groups and even class identities.
The purpose is no longer simply to keep warm, but to meet psychological needs.
One of the reasons why The North Face exploded in The Country is more or less the same.
Of course, we all know that the average North Face is not expensive, but it will be more reflected in its trend influence.
If we were to objectively explore the reasons for The North Face's popularity.
It is absolutely impossible to ignore a background message, the down jacket itself is already on fire.
As early as a few years ago, when it came to down jackets, everyone still dismissed it, just treating it as a helpless "warm" equipment, practicality is greater than beauty.
Today, it is a blockbuster symbol that carries elements of trend culture.
Who changed the down jacket?
First of all, a large part of the popularity of down jackets has benefited from the trend of recent years.
When outdoor sports such as camping, mountaineering, picnics, skiing, fishing, etc. are becoming more and more popular in China, and the japanese mountain trend has a wider and deeper impact on young audiences in China, and even on many domestic brands.
As the original outdoor equipment, down jackets are also like fishing vests, off-road shoes, and wind and raincoats, which have been "excavated" by many style idols, and under the guidance of their goods, they have naturally entered the trend field.
It can be said that the rise of outdoor sports and urban outdoor trends has created the basis for down jackets to become popular.
However, it is not only the trend of the times, but also the down brands themselves.
For a long time, down brands have basically been related to fashion and fashion, and the trend has nothing to do with it, but like luxury brands, they have also taken the initiative to change and transform after witnessing the urgent need for rejuvenation.
Through "fashion" and "joint name", we will continue to improve our fashionability and trend influence to connect with young people.
The most representative brands here are Moncler, Bosideng, The North Face and so on.
Moncler, who is deeply involved in the fashion field, invited the creative director of the former Valentino very early on to launch high-end collections and frequently appear in fashion weeks, consolidating his position as a "fashion down".
Moncler (Genius) Fall/Winter 2020 collection
Bosideng in our country also takes the international fashion week as the stage, connects designers from different countries, brings multi-dimensional ideas to down jackets, and reverses everyone's prejudice against domestic down and rustic.
For example, a while ago, Bosideng's cooperation with the famous French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has set off a lot of waves.
Bosideng x Jean-Paul Gaultier
And The North Face is not to mention, it should also be said that the joint name with Supreme is the beginning of many people's understanding of it.
Under the promotion of the brands themselves, the down pieces have also become "hot".
This also once again verifies a "true fragrance" law in all popular and trending trends, any single product or brand, as long as it exists in the market for a long time, even if it does not originally conform to the mainstream aesthetic, it may become a trend and become a hit.
If you think about it, isn't that what has been popular before, like Daddy shoes?
With the cold winter on, I don't think there's anything more impactful than a logo eye-catching down jacket.
Why North? The North Face
From 2007 to today, every year The North Face and Supreme have a joint series released, the famous "Snow Mountain", which can be seen as the beginning of The North Face's breaking circle in our country.
By the time of the Fall/Winter 2020 collection, the two sides have boldly reinvented the classic down style of the North Nuptse with fur, with a very dazzling luxurious texture.
You can say that these exaggerated designs are not beautiful, but they can well break the stereotype that everyone has always had a single down.
Frequent and accurate launch of cooperative series, coupled with limited hunger marketing, can easily attract attention and create public opinion.
Even if it is difficult to grab, they are like "flagship products" or "concept cars", which increase the attention of The North Face itself and transform the brand image.
By the way, The North Face's parent company, VF, also acquired Supreme at the end of 2020, and it is conceivable that the joint names of the two brands will only be more than not less.
Of course, although the co-brand can promote the brand effect, if the popularity of The North Face is completely regarded as a co-brand effect with Supreme or other brands, it is not a bit simpler.
Most of the people who use the north as school uniforms are young people.
Younger people have a keen sense of smell and are more receptive to trend culture, but at the same time they are more sensitive to price.
Compared with the luxury level of Moncler and Canada Goose, ordinary young people are difficult to afford, and Bosideng has many domestic brands in recent years have the "common disease", good-looking high-end styles are also too expensive, the general style still can not hide the earthy taste, it is difficult to wear color.
Therefore, focusing on the young trend field, the north side with the right price is naturally attractive enough.
Although not all north faces are cheap.
But you found that no, in China, The North Face is mainly popular in the 1996 Nuptse such a basic style, it is equivalent to the Nike air Force 1, more than two thousand prices are not cheap, but not too expensive, bite the teeth can also afford to buy.
This allows The North Face to have a very wide audience in China, creating a premise for its popularity.
▲ 1996 Nuptse
In addition, the "North School Uniform" also reflects the circle culture of our young trend groups today.
When the self's style system is not yet perfect, and there is no more complete appreciation ability for the trend trend, a highly recognizable explosive model appears, which can easily cause the phenomenon of following the trend and blindly following the crowd.
It's just that more people are not looking at design, but out of self-satisfaction, and the psychological needs of circle (group) identity.
It is not difficult to explain why many of the "North Fake" in "All North" are also "The North Fake".
But I have to admit that the current "full north" is still different from the former "full of evil people".
As a long-standing, with a deep brand DNA, The North Face has never lacked real suitors, "brave to climb the peak, explore more than that", "think about the most authentic relationship between man and nature" has become their value proposition.
These loyal fans are also at their fingertips for The North Face's various high-tech fabrics, such as Gore-Tex, WindWall, VaporWick, UPF, Hyvent...
In fact, it's not just us who think of the north as a "school uniform."
Just this past Christmas 2020, the Houston Oil Company of the United States was ready to ask The North Face to order a batch of down jackets as a gift for employees, but the brand refused on the grounds that it was not environmentally friendly.
From this small thing, you can not only see that The North Face's down jacket has become a popular label, but also clearly understand its brand philosophy.
In fact, we can also find the answer to the "full north side" from Japan and Korea.
Anyone who knows The North Face should know that the brand has different independent branches in Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Europe is the Red Label (Red Label), which was launched by The North Face in 2016 in cooperation with the Italian fashion brand Slam Jam, which is still relatively unpopular in our country, so I will not say it here.
South Korea's White Label was launched in 2014, and before the white label was launched, The North Face's down jacket was once the "school uniform" for young Koreans.
The white label with Daily, Outdoor, and Style as the main purpose is specially launched according to the characteristics of the Korean market, while retaining a certain functionality, the design has become a daily city, partial street casual, and the product style update speed is also much faster.
Japan's Purple Label, one of the most watched of All The North Face's branches, was created in 2003 by Goldwin, led by Goldwin and co-founded by designer Nagaichiro Homa.
To put it crudely, it was Zibiao who taught Japanese how to wear The North Face, and before it, many Japanese people just regarded it as a simple outdoor clothing.
The North Face Purple Label integrates Japan's unique and strong mountain aesthetics, with Urban Outdoor as the positioning, the design adopts the earth color system, with simple functional fabrics and wide cuts, integrating the outdoor natural landscape and protection needs into the urban scene of the actual wear and full texture.
Purple Label's Fall/Winter 2020 collection
The success of Purple Label, including White Label, its influence does not only exist in its own market, but also extends to the entire Asian region, but also includes our country, and is deeply affected by it.
Coupled with the rise of the domestic Urban Outdoor trend and the gradual popularization of outdoor sports, it is natural to attract a large number of fans of the same style for The North Face.
In 2016, The North Face specially created an Urban Exploration concept store for the rest of the Asian market, and the North Face store that is often seen in China is it, and then also developed the Black Series, which is commonly known as the "black label", which is positioned to be relatively high-end and is also the most of the joint series of The North Face.
As China's down jacket market expands further, down jackets like The North Face will only become more and more popular for the foreseeable future.
However, more and more people wear it, and it is inevitable that it will cause some trouble to people who originally like The North Face, "I can't buy it", "Too many people wear it, do I want to wear it?"
Here the leaves can only say, if you really like, maybe don't have to worry so much, wear your own style, and if you are a person who goes with the flow, then I advise you to think more, is it suitable for you?