Napapijri Marks 40 Years With Anniversary Project

Forty Years of Exploration

Napapijri has marked a significant milestone, presenting a first look at its autumn/winter 2027 collection at Teatro Alcione in Milan. Named ‘The Anniversary Project’, the line celebrates the Italian outerwear brand’s 40th anniversary, which falls next year and gives the collection its thematic anchor.

As part of VF Corporation, Napapijri has long occupied a distinctive space at the intersection of technical outerwear and lifestyle clothing. The anniversary collection draws on that legacy rather than attempting to reinvent the label, looking back at four decades of exploration through three recurring themes that have shaped its identity: geography and expeditions, research and innovation, and alpine heritage.

Three Themes, One Identity

The choice of themes reflects the brand’s dual heritage. The geography and expeditions strand nods to a history of polar and mountain exploration, where garments were designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth. Research and innovation speaks to ongoing development in materials and construction, while the alpine heritage thread keeps the collection grounded in the landscape from which so much of the label’s visual language derives.

By framing the anniversary around these ideas, Napapijri positions the collection not simply as a retrospective but as a statement about continuity. Forty years of exploration is a compelling narrative for an outerwear brand, and the autumn/winter setting gives that story a natural home.

A Stage for Where Next?

The evening itself was built around ‘Where Next?’, Napapijri’s global autumn/winter 2026 campaign, which features actor and musician Jamie Campbell Bower. Bower took to the stage to discuss travel, discovery and the experience of journeying alone versus journeying with others, subjects that run through the campaign and connect neatly to the anniversary’s exploratory spirit.

He was joined in conversation by Italian television and podcast host Alessandro Cattelan. The dialogue style suited the venue: rather than a traditional catwalk presentation, guests were placed inside an evolving narrative, with conversation providing the evening’s rhythm.

Immersive Setting and Archival Material

Napapijri transformed the theatre into an immersive space, layering archival footage and brand imagery with a composed soundscape. The effect was intended to carry guests through the brand’s history rather than present them with a static display. Archive imagery offered a visible record of previous eras, while the sound design gave the room a sense of movement and atmosphere.

The evening concluded with a performance by Polifonic, an Italian electronic music collective, closing the event on a contemporary note that balanced the archival content earlier in the night.

What the Presentation Signals

The event format says as much as the garments themselves. By choosing a theatre and constructing an immersive environment, Napapijri placed storytelling at the centre of the anniversary, using its archive as material for an experience rather than simply releasing a commemorative line.

The autumn/winter 2027 collection, shown here in preview, will carry the anniversary story forward into next year. The three themed strands are likely to determine how the range is merchandised and communicated, with expedition-inspired pieces sitting alongside more innovation-led designs and pieces rooted in alpine tradition.

For a brand within VF Corporation, this approach also makes commercial sense. Anniversary collections offer a chance to consolidate a identity while reaching both long-standing customers and a newer audience drawn in by the campaign and its visibility. The use of a major acting talent, a well-known Italian host and a respected music collective broadens the collection’s reach beyond a core outerwear audience.

The Road Ahead

With the anniversary year still to come, the Milan presentation served as an opening chapter. Napapijri has set out its three defining themes and tied them to a campaign built around a simple question rather than a fixed answer. How the autumn/winter 2027 collection develops from this preview, and how those three strands are expressed across the full range, will be the story to watch as the brand enters its fifth decade.