Have you ever noticed that the coolest of cool kids are rocking The North Face but theirs looks a little different?What is it you may ask, why is it different and why is it seen as the cooler version?The North Face Purple Label is basically a sub-label of The North Face (TNF). Purple Label, for a very long time, was exclusive and only sold in Japan. They use the same fabrics as typical TNF outerwear but this is designed for the fashion-forward Japanese customer, who wants more functional everyday wear. Purple Label was founded in 2003 along with another cult hero, nanamica by Eiichiro Homma. The biggest difference between TNF and Purple Label is that Purple Label is designed with a fashion first mentality whereas TNF takes pride in always designing from a technical outerwear space.Eiichiro adds that it “is modified outdoor clothing with additional modern fashion aspects – creating a high-level mix of style and function, which is nanamica’s fundamental value, too”.

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How did this all come about?TNF is owned by VF Corporation around the world except for Japan. In the 1970s’ a company called Goodwin Co, acquired the Japanese rights to The North Face. This essentially allowed for TNF Japan to operate as a stand-alone brand, separate from the American direction. This also allowed for the Purple Label, a lifestyle diffusion line to be created.And this is where Eiichiro Homma comes into play. He was a veteran technical designer for Goldwin Co and in 2003 he started his own brand, nanamica whilst also taking care of the Purple Label. Purple Label was created not to expand the market share of TNF but to offer a product that better represented how people were already wearing TNF in Japan. For me, this in itself shows why it is so successful and why the resale price is so high. It was created not to be a cash cow but to improve the day to day life of its customers. If people want to wear The North Face but don’t need to have a jacket that is visible in a snowstorm, they now have Purple Label.

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“Before we launched Purple Label, all [The North Face] garments which were worn as city wear looked exactly the same as outdoor gear.” The goal with The North Face Purple Label was then, “to adapt [The North Face] for city wear without compromising the core values of the original.” - Eiichiro Homma said to Hypebeast in 2003.

Purple Label may not share the need to be the most technological advantaged as TNF does, but it does maintain the same level of quality. Only the finest fabrics are used when creating its products. Purple Label does share the resources of TNF, giving it access to the best of the best fabrics and manufacturing.

I’m sure there have been many talks in VF Corp boardrooms about why we don’t commercialise one of TNF’s most valuable assets and make it a worldwide thing, but this decision to keep it exclusively in Japan, only adds to the legend of the brand. Purple Label’s use of prints and colour palettes add to the visual aesthetic, whilst the scarcity adds to worldwide demand.

From a branding point of view, Purple Label has been well protected. They didn’t cave on selling the much-wanted label to the rest of the world and stayed true to the design principles of why The Purple Label was started. Looking back through the archives, every piece and every item makes sense and fits within the brands' image. I guess it’s hard for them to be chasing trends when they are setting the trends but I’m sure the opportunity has been there.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

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