Celebrating the work of women: The North Face IWD Collection by women for women
Opportunities that support and showcase the work of women are always welcome and useful.
To celebrate International Women's Day (IWD), popular brand The North Face for the first time in its history launched an all-female designed, manufactured and marketed Collection.
The special IWD Collection - made by an all-female team at the Jerash factory in Jordan led by management team member and women's rights activist Oryana Awaisheh - featured a line of limited-edition T-shirts and tote bags in IWD colors of green, purple and white and sported the iconic IWD logo via the exciting collaboration.
Made from technical fabric, the pieces featured a vintage photo from the Yosemite Archives showing two women at the peak of a cliff after climbing in dresses and heels - underlined by the company's powerful 'We Move Mountains' mantra.
Supporting the work of women in the supply chain
The Collection was made by the Jerash garment factory, an all-female factory in Jordan that provides over 500 jobs in the area. “The world contains more skilled, talented and ambitious women than ever and I’m incredibly proud to be able to partner with The North Face to showcase the work of just a small number of these amazing women,” said manager Oryana Awaisheh.
The Collection - that supports female empowerment, togetherness and the commitment to a better future - is the first of many orders to be placed at the factory.
“The North Face has been at the forefront of empowering and supporting women to achieve the unthinkable for over half a century and we’re excited to once again support the remarkable achievements and hard work shown by women such as Oryana,” explained the brand’s VP of Marketing Tina Rolen.
Supporting women to create a platform for positive change
"Against an uncertain global backdrop, we are proud to bring the stories of Oryana Awaisheh and her team to life, working with our talented team of athletes, activists and artists to help spread their story to the women of the world and inspire others to take their own steps towards positive change," commented Amanda Calder-McLaren, Communications Director for The North Face. "For me it’s a huge source of excitement, knowing that each t-shirt or bag I see on the street has had an impact on so many women’s lives."
The campaign underlines the brand’s heritage of supporting women to create a platform for positive change, from sponsoring the first all-female expedition of Annapurna in 1978 to supporting Margo Hayes in her quest to become the first woman to climb 9a+.
Filming the story behind the collection
British photographer and filmmaker Holly-Marie Cato captured the stories of the remarkable women behind the IWD collection, and celebrates both the garment workers as well as more recognisable women including Grammy Award winning British musician Jess Glynne, who made her debut as an ambassador for the brand.
Jess Glynne is joined by The North Face athletes Marion Haerty, Caroline Ciavaldini and Mathilde Becerra - and influencers such as presenter and writer Candice Brathwaite, columnist Carlotta Vagnoli, photographer and alpine climber Emma Svensson, actress and stuntwoman Marie Mouroum, doctor Haneen Khaled, artist, model, and writer Riya Hamid, and presenter, adventurer and entertainer Sofia Jin.
Watch the video here.
"International Women's Day, I guess to me means a lot. It's an important day for women as a whole just to be recognized and appreciated and understood. I feel like this day, in itself, is important to recognize how capable we are and the things that we've achieved," said Jess Glynne.
