The Americana heritage revival has undoubtedly been the biggest story in the menswear market over the last few seasons. We’ve been some of the biggest proponents of this look, as it’s an aesthetic we both wholeheartedly embrace in our day-to-day lives: comfort, practicality, masculinity, and style through subtlety. However, as with everything, a ‘trend’ or ‘style’ can’t stay cutting edge and ‘genuinely cool’ forever. Last week the 84/85 boys took a trip to the Gap and were pretty shocked by what we saw. Red and black flannel print everywhere, from the clothes to promo material to store props. The cuts are much better then in the past too, and all of a sudden we had this realization: are we ready to start buying clothes from places like the Gap? Because it appears as if they’ve decided to cater to our (and the market’s) taste.
One of the most recognizable names in the workwear/Americana sector is Pendleton. A pristine vintage flannel from them is our holy grail of thrifting, and they’ve had some of the best collaborations over the past couple seasons, with the likes of Opening Ceremony and Property Of. A just-released collabo with Hurley, along with our Gap trip, is another indicator of market direction and the way ‘mainstream’ designers and retailers are headed: back-to-basics looks, and always searching for a way to make it credible, e.g. doing a collaboration with the likes of Pendleton, Woolrich, or Penfield. It’s all fine and good for companies to make money, and I’m sure Hurley has tons of it. However, I think it would be wise for brands to maintain their image carefully, and heading down a path towards the giant surf/skate/snow lines could be dangerous. You don’t want to alienate the people who made your wares desirable again in the first place. We’re not going to jump off the workwear bandwagon, just like we won’t abandon trim suiting, or go back to wearing square-toe dress shoes. But I will think a bit harder about purchasing anything Pendleton, knowing some So-Cal ultrabro is going to be wearing the same thing, because he could buy it a Target.
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