LFW AW20: MM6 Maison Margiela unveils outerwear collaboration

MM6 Maison Margiela used their London Fashion Week autumn/winter 2020 catwalk show to unveil a new partnership with outerwear specialists The North Face, which transformed the brand’s outerwear as padded circle coats, jackets, a top and dress.

The collaboration features The North Face’s signature Expedition System, a revolutionary system of detachable, layered pieces designed for extreme weather conditions, established in 1990, which has been reimagined in circular patterns that mimic the ‘circle’ concept inherent to MM6, as the label reinterprets the concept of all-weather gear.

The pieces combine both the “technical precision and functionality of the original design” with the “conceptual prowess of the Maison,” explained the contemporary Parisian label, and the design resonates with the “modular and customisable nature of both the MM6 collection and the original Expedition System”.

The garments have been engineered with interlocking components that adapt and extend the protective, insulating properties of each design. Starting from The North Face iconic black shoulder construction which has been executed in a bright colour palette of cobalt, violet, bottle green, sun yellow and safety orange, while authentic performance textiles ensure that each piece preserves functionality whilst embodying a sculptural and resolutely avant-garde silhouette.

The North Face collaborates with MM6 Maison Margiela during London Fashion Week

This duality is applied to key styles including the hooded Himalayan Coat, the cape-style Mountain Kaban, and the compact Nuptse puffer jacket, all of which have been crafted with recycled down insulation.

The zippered Denali jacket has been lengthened into a coat dress and shortened as a sweater, each cut in a cosy, pre-washed recycled fleece, while a triple-zipper system allows for fully adjustable sleeves and armholes, and the original fastenings allow the Denali and Nuptse styles to zip directly into the Mountain Kaban.

The magnified MM6 ‘numbers’ device also mirrors The North Face logo in white thread embroidery on each piece.

Accessories also fuse elements of MM6 iconography with classic The North Face functionality, such as the padded Nuptse scarf, which has been adapted with dual pockets and a loop fastening system to become a garment in itself, and the opera-length alpine mittens have been split at the thumb for a ‘Tabi’ effect.

There was also a circle backpack and clutch unveiled, both of which are modelled off the circular base of The North Face Base Camp Duffel, complete with webbing handles and a transparent ID window.

The MM6 x The North Face capsule will be available from September 2020 in selected multibrand stores, in key MM6 and The North Face flagship stores, and online.

Images: courtesy of MM6 Maison Margiela