Created through the vision and experience of extreme-skier Scot Schmidt, The North Face Steep Tech jacket was a design that revolutionised mountain gear and eventually avalanched on various realms of urban street culture around the world.

Schmidt claimed: “Back in the day, a lot of the ski suits didn’t have the things I needed,” he explains, “and I was always stitching things together…making them more usable.”

The Steep Tech was born in 1991 from this desire to create a jacket that was suited to unpredictable mountain conditions. The North Face and the Steep Tech Apogee Anorak also had an undeniable influence on streetwear on the East Coast of the USA, becoming a favourite with NYC kids and hip-hop scenesters. These jackets were a baggy wardrobe essential for battling the icy weather conditions on the streets of The Big Apple.

Continuing its revival in 2020, and in celebration of our 20th birthday, we bring you another The North Face Steep Tech collection. Included in the line up will be a highly-limited run of 20 Steep Tech Apogee Anoraks, all of which will be available exclusively via raffle on the size? launches app.

You can enter for a £20 fee to be within a chance of winning a jacket, with all funds going towards a community interest company called Wild in the City, a Community Interest Company who strive to make nature a meaningful part of everyday life. They promote reconnecting with nature and teach the skills of our ancestors to offer experiences in bushcraft, natural history and ecotherapy for children and adults living or working in urban areas.

Our rendition follows the original ethos of being highly practical: it comes geared up with a fully adjustable drop hood that can be stored in the collar, handy tool pockets, a three-zip ventilation system, two zippers on the back for venting and a buckle system with plastic snap belt loops. This jacket was built for the mountain and transitioned to wintery urban streets; we believe that it is important that the jacket remains as practical as possible to ensure it maintains authenticity.

If you are tearing up a mountain or channelling your inner ‘90s hip hop energy, you need to keep dry; this jacket arrives in a waterproof, breathable shell with a DWR finish to ensure this. What’s more, we’ve painted it in a size?-themed colourway, consisting of black, grey and orange; it is completed with size?, The North Face and Steep Tech branding throughout.

As we mentioned, the collection also boasts two t-shirts and a hoodie, capturing the spirit of Steep Tech and our 20-year celebrations. The tees keep it simple; they arrive in a white or black colourway with orange branding, including a size? question mark logo and a The North Face’s ‘Never Stop Exploring’ on the reverse.

The hoodie represents both The North Face and size? with two box logos on the chest and below sits information on the collaboration. On the reverse is a blueprint-like graphic of the classic Steep Tech jacket, showing both the front and back of the silhouette in detail.

Enter the draw for The North Face Steep Tech Apogee jacket for a £20 donation to Wild in the City via the size? launches app. You can also enter the draw for our collaborative tees and hoodies, they’re priced at £35 and £80 respectively.