The North Face unveils the new Summit Series Collection: Innovation and new technologies reshape this iconic, best in class collection.
by Andrea Bonetti
Respect, Inspiration, Innovation. The three fundamental concepts The North Face has applied to revamping its iconic flagship collection, the Summit Series Collection, which will be back in the shops from 15 October 2015. The SSC, developed and manufactured with the most active and enthusiastic mountaineers and climbers in mind, will be released in limited quantities and it’s for sure that stocks will run out quickly.
Salt Lake City, Utah (USA): here in August we attended the preview of the new Summit Series Collection, held in a converted workshop with an iron door at the entrance and a sign saying “The Other Way”; announcing a surprise as well as the American company’s new path forward. The event, attended by athletes and testimonials, was fantastic and gave us the chance to admire, wear and analyse the garments in the new SCC, presented as a virtual journey in Nepal through Oculus Rift, with the models in the collection emerging from the depths of a dark room.
Respect, one of the key concepts, seen as respect for oneself, mountaineers and the environment. It is peculiar to The North Face and goes hand in glove with inspiration, involving everyone who contributes to creating the products: designers, engineers, administrators, athletes and end users. For the American company inspiration is a value that sums up the essence of quality and outdoor sports, making a desire for challenge and achievement the most important motivation. Then evolution, seen as innovation, representing the frontiers of quality and the avant garde, thrusting SSC forward to create new standards. From now on, anyone can take up a challenge wearing The North Face products.
“We built this for ourselves, and our athletes, and were inspired by the creative path,” said Vice President, Global Product Joe Vernachio. “We challenged ourselves, at every fork in the road, to take the path least traveled and in the end, this product is where we ended up, and we feel that we made a very compelling collection of products.”
This new Summit Series Collection is based on six products, with men’s and women’s versions, corresponding to the number of layers making up the collection. It starts with L1, in contact with the skin, up to L6 for protection in extreme conditions.
The Summit L1 Top and Pant are base layering essentials made from engineered fabric to provides zonal warmth and moisture management, as well as articulated construction for mobility.
The Summit L2 Jacket is a midlayer made with extremely durable Polartec® Thermal Pro® with Hardface® Technology fleece, and has an engineered knit back for targeted warmth and moisture management.
An ultra light down mid-layer, the Summit L3 Jacket is insulated with 800-fill RDS down. The face fabric utilizes FuseForm™ construction for targeted durability with minimal seams and a digitally printed color that uses less water than traditional dyeing process.
The warmest synthetic mid-layer, the Summit L4 Jacket is insulated with ThermoBall™, a synthetic, proprietary The North Face insulation that retains warmth when wet. The jacket’s minimal, unibody construction reduces seams and its quilt design prevents insulation migration and cold spots.
The Summit L5 Shell and Shell Pant are the most advanced shell outerwear The North Face has ever built, utilizing a waterproof, breathable DryVent™ 3L membrane. The shell and pant have localized FuseForm™ construction for targeted durability with minimal seams and were designed with articulated, one-piece construction for alpine mobility.
The final layer of the line is the Summit L6 Jacket, an 800-fill RDS down belay jacket that uses welded, Z-baffle construction for increased warmth and weather-resistance, and FuseForm™ construction for targeted durability.
The approach to unveiling the Fall 2015 Summit Series collection is “The Other Way,” which ties to the product being designed outside the traditional RD&D timetables, as well as the limited quantity of line, which will only be online and in stores for a limited amount of time.
“Because the product is unique and crafted for specific endeavors and core athletes, it was clear that the product belonged in specialty retail environments where it can be shared with core outdoor athletes in a way that is unique and personalized to them,” said The North Face VP, Sales Tony Erlick. “Whether it’s the new Summit Series collection, or limiting distribution to specialty dealers, everything we have done to bring this line to market ties back to ‘The Other Way.’”
Andrea Bonetti
MountainBlog
