Shaking hands to shaking mountains

SKIMS x North Face was seemingly aesthetic and earth shaking. One audience couldn’t get enough, and the other couldn’t escape. SKIMS audience dominated by the new ‘wellness era girl’ devoured this collaboration for breakfast. Leveraging looks, over functionality this time. If the fit matches the feed, so what with the functionality- that is until they find themselves stuck in the avalanche this social storm caused.

North Face embodies breaking boundaries, pushing limits, and doing everything under the sun- or sky. From hiking, to rafting, to skiing, North Face explored the ends of the Earth often mimicking nature through design. Bright colors, bold print and exciting design; while all, still being functional. Nature boasts bold colors for protection, often North Face using this tactic to not only stand out in a crowd but if ever in danger: from warding off predators intimidated by these colors to spotting people in dangerous situations.

However, when they shook the hand of SKIMS, not only did they exchange credibility for social visibility- and risk audience backlash and consumer liability. The collaboration’s skin-toned puffers and neutral ski suits may have looked great on Instagram feeds, but they rendered wearers nearly invisible in the very environments North Face built its reputation on. On snowy slopes or snowshoe trails, monochrome beige and white outfits compromised safety. Socially, the pieces aligned perfectly with SKIMS’ lifestyle aesthetic, but practically, they left consumers exposed-and North Face with a serious credibility risk among its historic, devoted audience.