For Spring/Summer 2025, The North Face Urban Exploration collection returns with a striking new vision, courtesy of Tokyo-based designer Naohiro Fujisaki. Known for his work at meanswhile, Fujisaki brings a fresh, technical sensibility to The North Face’s city-facing line. The result? One of the brand’s most inventive gorpcore-adjacent collections to date, built for movement and utility.
Leading the drop is a hybrid piece that’s already made headlines: a waterproof, three-layer jacket that doubles as a backpack. Sounds mad, looks excellent. And crucially, it works. Wear it as a coat with built-in carry space. Or detach the bag entirely. Either way, it’s a cleverly modular answer to the realities of city life.
Elsewhere, the collection builds out Fujisaki’s signature approach with a series of Active Wind jackets and layered tops that lean heavily into subtle utility. Patchwork shoulders, ballet-inspired lace-up collars, and weatherproof skirts all bring a soft, sculptural quality to pieces made to move. The campaign even features models in leg warmers. Hinting at a strange but compelling crossover between mountainwear and the ballet barre.
There are no pointe shoes, thankfully. Just some solid hiking footwear and a handful of minimalist accessories, including a mini shoulder bag and a refined take on the brand’s Himalayan suit.
The collection is expected to drop soon at select TNF stores worldwide , and all signs suggest this is just the beginning. Fujisaki pieces were spotted in meanswhile’s Autumn/Winter 2025 presentation, pointing to another instalment come cooler weather.
Not your average mountain kit – but then again, that’s the point.
Next up: Everything you wanted to know about gorpcore.
