Gorp couture is officially a thing — at least according to Cecilie Bahnsen and The North Face.
The Copenhagen label known for its voluminous shapes in hyper-femme fabrics used its Paris Fashion Week runway to preview a collaboration with the iconic outdoor brand. And, even though it’s not set to launch until spring/summer 2025, we’re already all over the oversized duffel bags, chunky hiking boots, and practical windbreakers reimagined with that Scandi, feminine edge. It’s all about the details: scalloped edges and 3D floral appliqués adorning waterproof jackets and knee-length shorts, drawstrings coming with flower-shaped pullers, dresses billowing into full bubble-hem skirts.
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“This collection is my tribute to Ingrid Harshbarger, the late designer at The North Face, whose meticulous craftsmanship I admire endlessly,” Bahnsen said, in a statement. “Diving into her design inheritance was deeply inspiring, and it became impossible for that influence not to shape the entire collection. It pushed me to approach craftsmanship, functionality, and durability in a completely new way — bringing the ideas of everyday couture and a deeper exploration of details and wearability to the forefront.”
Working on this project, she continued, “sparked a newfound fascination with mountain climbers and their sense of liberation and fearlessness. There’s a strength and complexity in what they do, yet it appears so graceful and effortless, almost like ballet—performed vertically on a cliff edge. My dream is to embody that same courage and elegance.”
The collaboration is largely inspired by mountainous landscapes — from its colour schemes of whites, greens and blacks to its round and sharp edges — as well as the skeleton flower, which turns transparent in the rain. (The latter informed the delicate patches and layers.)
The Cecilie Bahnsen x The North Face collaboration is set to release next spring.