The North Face didn’t invent the puffy jacket. That honor goes to Eddie Bauer, who patented the first goose down jacket after almost dying of hypothermia on a winter fishing trip in 1935. He wanted something as warm as a heavy wool coat, but lighter and more breathable. So he stuffed goose feathers into a quilted jacket and called it the Skyliner. The rest is history. Eddie Bauer may have invented the puffer, but The North Face made it cool with the Nuptse. This oversized, bulky puffer has been a fashion staple for the last 30 years, worn by rappers and suburban kids alike. It has become an icon of streetwear, though The North Face designed it specifically for the mountains.
The 1992 Nuptse: A Technical Jacket Built for the Mountains
Originally released in 1992, and named after a daunting peak in the Himalayas, the Nuptse was built as a technical jacket designed with input from TNF’s global expedition team. Just like Eddie Bauer, those mountaineers in the ’90s wanted a jacket with excellent warmth-to-weight ratio that could also handle the rigors of climbing.
“We had been making down jackets since the early ’70s, but the Nuptse was a revolutionary step towards lightweight warmth for the most extreme outdoor conditions,” says TNF’s chief design officer Ebru Ercon, citing a unique baffle design that allowed for more loft and prevented the down insulation from migrating out of place and inadvertently creating cold spots. The torso was cut short so climbers could easily access their harness below the jacket. An overlay on the shoulder of the jacket added durability where a pack would sit—another functional design choice that gave the Nuptse its now iconic black color blocking on the shoulders.
From Everest to the Streets: How the Nuptse Became a Style Icon
All of these thoughtful, tactical details that made the Nuptse an ideal expedition layer helped it stand out against other puffers of the ’90s. It just looked…badass. Influential personalities of the ’90s hip hop scene (we just called it “rap” back then) adopted the oversized puffer, wearing it in music videos, photo shoots, and through the streets of New York City. Why? Partly because the Nuptse was warm, but mostly because the jacket looked great with jeans and a pair of Timberland boots.
I spent most of my high school career lusting over this oversized pillow of a jacket precisely because some of my favorite hip hop artists wore it. I lived in Georgia, where it rarely gets below 30 degrees, and the toughest adventure I had in mind was cutting across my neighbor’s farm to get to my best friend’s house. But still, the Notorious B.I.G. wore one. So did Redman. I had to have a Nuptse.
“What differentiated the Nuptse from many other mainstream puffers on the market back then is that it was designed to be an on-mountain, expedition-proven product, ready to withstand the harshest climates on the planet,” Ercon says. And yet…“The Nuptse became a signature piece for some of the world’s biggest artists in the ‘90s.”
The Drake Effect—and the Nuptse’s Lasting Appeal
Rappers and suburban white kids wearing hardcore technical jackets designed for Everest to the mall might be the literal definition of irony. And the Nuptse was just getting started. In 2011, Drake wore a leopard print version of the Nuptse—a collab design with Supreme—in his video, “The Motto,” and the jacket’s popularity with gen-pop hit a fever pitch.
“In the early 2000s, we were still selling the Nuptse primarily in the outdoor specialty space, but after the Drake video, the jacket continued to garner momentum with a growing fan base,” Ercon says. “That’s when it became a true streetwear/lifestyle staple product.”
And the Nuptse’s popularity continues. The jacket hasn’t changed much since its original debut back in ’92. The latest version, the ’96 Retro, looks almost identical to the jacket I wanted so badly when I was a teenager in the mid-90s, but it features higher-performing shell fabrics, more recycled materials, and better DWR treatments. But it still looks good with some jeans and Timberland boots—and yes, suburban kids still want to wear it to the mall. I recently got a Nuptse vest to test for this article— two-toned blue with the black color blocking on the shoulders, just like the one I wanted when I was a teenager. Now I just have to wait for my 16-year-old daughter, who has been wearing it nonstop, to give it back.
Why The North Face’s Technical Gear Keeps Crossing Over
The Nuptse isn’t TNF’s only technical jacket to successfully cross-over into the mainstream. The brand’s Denali fleece has been a staple at frat parties since I was matriculating, and the Mountain Jacket, a waterproof, technical winter shell, also enjoyed its adoption in streetwear culture in the ’90s. The Notorious B.I.G. even called out The North Face in one of his songs. I can’t repeat the lyrics here, but you can google it.
The demands of expeditions still drive The North Face’s development today, but the brand continues to court streetwear enthusiasts through regular collaborations with brands like Supreme and the creation of layers that just look great, whether you’re a mountaineer at Everest basecamp or a teenager hanging out in the parking lot of Taco Bell.
Here are four TNF puffers that have crossover appeal, including my favorite puffer of all time.
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