With brands like Salomon and Nike’s ACG dominating the trail-meets-streets community in recent years, we often forget that The North Face has been giving outdoor clothing an urban appeal for longer than most.
Its latest General Athletic Recreation (GAR) collection ignores any inadvertent streetwear crossover and instead purpose-builds a capsule for the sake of both trail and lifestyle appeal.
The Next Chapter in a Legacy
The North Face has been playing the long game since Douglas and Susie Tompkins opened that first shop on Columbus Avenue back in 1966 — complete with a Grateful Dead grand opening, because San Francisco — and GAR feels like a natural evolution of that mountain-to-street approach. Where the brand pioneered GORE-TEX integration in the ’70s and built expedition-ready gear for the Trans-Antarctica crossing, this new collection takes the brand’s essence and applies a technical edge.
Trail running has influenced design language across the outdoor industry for years now, but GAR extracts the sport’s fundamental logic. Each piece handles the rapid temperature shifts and physical demands of actual trail use while maintaining silhouettes that crossover for daily wear. This is functional gear that just happens to look sharp.
The Lineup
Leading the collection is the GAR Light Rain Jacket, built from a light 20-denier waterproof nylon designed to be breathable yet protective. It can adequately packs down small enough for daily carry but performs well in inclement weather. Alongside it, the GAR Wind Jacket and Wind Skirt use moisture-wicking nylon designed to minimize cling during activity.
The GAR L/S Shirt is a button-up long-sleeve that introduces BREEZERANGE technology, designed for ventilation while integrating UV protection. Looking more like an evening shirt, it’s billed as a foundational layer for warm-weather movement, though an outdoor shirt’s capability can only really be tested in the field. Rounding out the debut are graphic T-shirts featuring TNF branding.
Trail Tech, Urban Reality
What sets GAR apart from Arc’teryx’s Beta series or Salomon’s trail-to-street offerings isn’t necessarily the materials (everyone has access to high-performance nylon at this point) but the straightforward execution. The color palettes stay subdued, the logos aren’t overdone, and the silhouettes avoid extreme material applications like GORE-TEX. Time will tell if that balance can translate to both town and trail.
Spec Sheet
Collection: General Athletic Recreation (GAR)
Key Pieces: GAR Light Rain Jacket (20-denier waterproof nylon), GAR Wind Jacket (moisture-wicking nylon), GAR Wind Skirt (moisture-wicking nylon), GAR L/S Shirt (BREEZERANGE technology with UV protection), graphic T-shirts
Release Date: February 14, 2026
Style: Trail-inspired technical wear for urban and outdoor use
Price: TBA
Pricing & Availability
The North Face GAR collection launches February 14 via The North Face’s official webstore. Pricing hasn’t been disclosed yet.
Recap
The North Face GAR Collection
The North Face’s GAR collection bridges trail running performance with urban versatility through pieces like a 20-denier waterproof jacket and moisture-wicking layers that handle both outdoor demands and daily wear. It’s technical apparel with restraint, dropping February 14.
