Nostalgia and evolution, The North Face's answer.

Hirotatsu Shibata ("Shibata"): I have been working for GOLDWIN for more than 30 years and have always been a designer, but now, through my role as design director, my main job is to shape innovation and future-oriented manufacturing.

Shibata: Yes, that's right. I joined the company in 1991, and until then, I studied fashion design at Mode Gakuen. When I was a student, there was what is commonly referred to as the "DC boom," and everyone around me was a bunch of crows. While everyone around me was wearing all black, like suits from Wise, I really liked casual clothes, so I always dressed in leather jackets and jeans. So when I thought about getting a job, I thought that going to a designer brand was not a good idea.

Shibata: Like everyone else, I was involved in club activities on weekend nights (laugh), but I also went camping, skied in the winter, and surfed in the summer, so I think my love of the outdoors was a big part of my life.

Shibata: I liked to be in contact with nature, so I decided to go into sports, even though everyone around me was going to design-related companies.

Shibata: . My main role is to organize the overall design, with a focus on apparel. We now have many designers within the company, and I give them instructions on how to make their designs consistent with the brand from a horizontal perspective. I am also responsible for taking the direction discussed at The North Face's global meetings and incorporating it into designs suited to the Japanese market.

Shibata: There are a variety of jackets such as the Climblite Jacket, the Dot Shot Jacket, and the Compact Jacket, but I think the Aconcagua Jacket is the best known of them all. The North Face's apparel, including the Mountain Jacket and the Nupsi Jacket, is basically based on the designs of iconic models in their home country and updated for the Japanese market. The Aconcagua was a complete Japanese original, and because it was well received by athletes in its home country (USA), a similar model was later sold in the United States as well.

Shibata: Yes . In the past, thin down was unthinkable, but with warmer winters, we realized the limitations of high-loft down alone, and that is when we came up with "Aconcagua". 10 denier yarn, which was used only for industrial materials and stockings, was incorporated into apparel, but at first, our own sales staff said, "We can't sell such thin down. At first, our sales staff said, "We can't sell such a thin down," but our MD at the time pushed us to commercialize it. This is a good example of how the idea caught on and was eventually mass-produced.

Shibata: At the time, the team in the home country was reluctant to accept Japanese designs, but it was thin down that they had never made before, and seeing materials that they had never touched before, I think they gradually became interested in it. I was very happy when they started to be used in their home country as well. . Even now, and from that time on, I have always loved to develop.

Shibata: Yes, I do. I climb mountains and do some climbing, but what I love most is snow sports, which I started when I was a student. . That is why I have always wanted to create a model for the backcountry. Naturally, we needed the input of athletes in order to create something like that, and the "RTG Jacket" was the first product we created after repeated trial and error with the snow athletes at The North Face at the time.

Shibata: Yes. Basically, you can't make things without them. . That is why I am not usually in the meeting room (laughs).

Shibata: One reason is that the climate is changing due to global warming, and what people wear is also changing. The season for wearing thick outerwear has become shorter, and there are more cases of people wearing only a shell over a T-shirt than in the past, and I feel that the demand for 2-layer shells is increasing. 2-layer shells feel better against the skin than 3-layer ones.

Shibata: . yes, I was thinking of a shell. Another reason was that I wanted a shell that was more like a solid color. The North Face's "mountain jackets" are usually designed with a transitional design, but I feel that there is a growing need for something simpler. So, when it came to a two-layer GORE-TEX fabric that was close to a solid color, in my mind it was the "STORE-WAY. While there are many spun-like and cotton-like products, I thought this kind of coloring and brightness, which is typical of the 1990s, matched the current mood.

Shibata: Yes, that's right. If you look at the catalog from 1982, the year Storeaway made its debut, you will see that it is called "Ultralight Shell. At the time, rainwear was only thick, so the name was based on the story that the two-layer shell was softer and more compact. At the end of the catalog, the word "casual" also appears, which shows that the "The North Face" team at that time was also beginning to be conscious of lifestyle.

Shibata: The item itself was introduced in 1982, but the model was continuously developed for more than 10 years after that, and the archives that I brought today are also from the '90s. In the past, smoky colors were the mainstream for shells, but as the times changed, vivid colors like these began to appear. I like "Storeaway" from this period the best.

Shibata: Yes, that's right. We redid the coloring three times, but we decided to use recycled polyester because we wanted to keep the original shiny atmosphere and select a material that is easy to wear in the modern age, and that is also appropriate for the current era. Since one of our missions is to manufacture products that do not place a burden on the environment, I think the use of a fluorine-free ePE membrane instead of the conventional ePTFE GORE-TEX membrane is a major change.

Shibata: Of course I like the logo that looks like a "mountain jacket," and indeed it is popular, but I wanted people to know about the more solid side of "The North Face. Each has its own meaning, but I thought this kind of thing would be good in terms of the timing of the times.

Shibata: Yes . I said I wanted something close to plain, but the logo itself should definitely be out there.

Shibata: As I mentioned earlier, our products are actually made after repeated conversations with athletes, and after they have tested them many times before they are finally commercialized. Therefore, I believe that the brand logo is a sign that says, "You can wear our products with confidence because we have tested them over and over again. As for "Storeaway" items, they were originally designed not only for outdoor use, but also for everyday use, so I thought a slightly more understated design would be easier to incorporate.

Shibata: . We were conscious of giving it the atmosphere of the time while making it easy to wear in the modern age. The lining is also made of ripstop fabric with a wrinkled finish to give it a natural look. While creating these retro colors, we also offer black, which would have been unthinkable in the outdoors at the time.

Shibata: (Laughs). For me, this kind of color, which is typical of the time, is something to wear when you want to raise the tension a little. You can wear them with full-length pants in the summer when it's a little cold, but personally, I like to wear them with short shorts and rag socks like in the 1990s.

Shibata: Yes. There are probably more and more people of that generation who don't know about that era, and I think this is an interesting time to start again. I think it is necessary to create new iconic models that have never existed in the past, but The North Face has preserved many good things since its founding, so it is important for us to update them to match the times. Of course, we would be very happy if people who know the background of the company would enjoy wearing them in the traditional way.