Iconic streetwear label: Who is Carhartt really made for?

DStreetwear marketing is more alchemy than science: there are no formulas to follow because that would make the brand too predictable and automatically uncool. Surprises thrive in this area, as does making the customer feel like they’ve discovered something new, even if marketing teams have pre-determined this through numerous meetings. What works one season may fail the next. It is all the more important to maintain a balance between proven classics and innovation.

Carhartt is also such a brand, or rather Carhartt WIP, a cult label that grew out of another (almost) label of the same name, but operates in a completely different way. For more than 30 years, the company has remained popular among skaters, rappers, craftsmen, and employees of creative agencies. But who is it really for?

Started as work clothes

Carhart’s story begins in 1889 in Dearborn, Michigan, in the American Midwest. At that time, the country’s railway network was growing rapidly, and with it the demand for durable work clothing. It is said that for this purpose the company followed the instructions of the railway workers, since they knew what load was most severe for their trousers, jackets and aprons.

Over time, its popularity grew and new factories opened in distant places, including Canada and the UK. More and more of the typical Detroit Duck jackets and overalls could be seen on large farms, assembly lines and oil rigs.

How proudly union-produced products have infiltrated subcultures is impossible to pin down in one place, but the combination of street art, skaters and hip-hop has created fertile ground for many “workwear” brands such as Timberland, Dickies and Carhartt. to appeal to a younger audience who may no longer need to lay the tracks, but also definitely didn’t want to be seen in a tie and pleated trousers.

The birth of work in progress

It so happened that a hundred years after the founding of the company, Swiss entrepreneur Edwin Fahe acquired the European licensing rights to Carhartt and associated it with his own streetwear brand Work in Progress. Carhartt Work in Progress (WIP for short) was born and began to dedicate itself entirely to youth culture, dressing skaters, rappers and graffiti artists, and opening stores in the hottest areas of Europe.

Suddenly, Carhartt was no longer “Made in the USA,” but more affordable, more wearable, and more trend-driven. To this day, WIP remains true to the original design, but often modifies it slightly to keep up with industry-wide color trends as well as to cater to female customers.

“The brand has a lot of history and ‘authenticity,’ although that term has become watered down,” says Derek Guy, a San Francisco-based journalist and men’s fashion expert. “It gives Carhartt a lot of prestige as a brand.”

When the WIP store in Hackney, East London, was broken into and looted during the London riots in 2011, the company quickly printed sweaters with photographs of the ransacked store window – a bestseller.

Today, in addition to clothing, bags and other accessories, each collection also includes several items that are perhaps best described as souvenirs: dog bowls, incense holders, rugs and countless skateboard designs are emblazoned with the iconic logo reminiscent of the Golden Spiral symbol. from the history of art, so that clients can show their affiliation with this cult in their home.