Swiss outdoor specialist Mammut tapped the Japanese designer for a capsule collection.

MOUNTAIN HIGH: Junya Watanabe has always had a soft spot for performance-driven heritage brands, and now he’s collaborating with Swiss mountaineering specialist Mammut on a capsule collection.

The Japanese designer said the six jackets — and one backpack — combine “craftsmanship and elegance” with the “genuine alpine expertise and technical innovation of Mammut.”

The clothes are designed for modern lifestyles and urban environments, while reflecting a fascination with mountain environments.

Dropping on Thursday, the capsule includes include a four-pocket jacket in Ventile cotton with a detachable hood and an insulated jacket featuring Watanabe’s signature patchwork details.

The collaboration falls under the Eye Junya Watanable Man brand, established in 2005, the “eye” referring to his perspective on clothing, and what he really wants to wear.

Berlin-based art director Donald Schneider, who in 2004 famously linked up Karl Lagerfeld with H&M, said when Mammut proposed a string of fashion collection, Watanabe was the first name that came to his mind, given his “experimental, innovative design philosophy.”

It inspired Schneider’s creative agency to create a cutting-edge campaign employing CGI animation, and a sci-fi storyline of futuristic elevators, escalators and observation decks at the highest altitudes imaginable.

Paul Cosgrove, chief product officer at Mammut, said the remit was for Watanabe “to engage directly with Mammut’s product heritage and reinterpret it through his own creative lens.”

Founded in a Swiss village in 1862, Mammut is best known for its mountaineering apparel and climbing equipment.

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