One of my favourite new men’s wear stores, Klaxon Howl, has launched their collaboration with the Bay. Amongst the others are Comrags, Krane, and Smythe, all prominent Canadian independents, just took part in a huge collabo with the Hudson’s Bay Company to create a unique conceptual collection sold at the Bay in limited numbers. Each company was asked by the Bay to design a piece for the line which contains a variety of items including flannels and wools for both men and women based on the concept of reaching back to the traditional HBC Point Blanket design . The Bay released a number of new things for the winter, but the main attraction was the limited items designed by these up and coming Canadian designers. See the whole line at Cheek Magazine here.
While I love the whole Americana workwear thing which is becoming rather popular right now, I do agree that it’s creating some hypocrisies and contradictions in street fashion right now. The Pop-Up Flea, which just happened a couple weeks ago in NYC, featured a number of new and vintage men’s wear items that all belong to this new trend of vintage Americana in street wear. However, there has been a lot of backlash regarding the increase of pricing, trendiness, and value of these items. This article, at An Affordable Wordrobe, illustrates a good point – that these types of clothes have been readily available for centuries as common staples, and have always been inexpensive. But now that designers are being inspired by the workwear aesthetic of the 20th century, prices are going up on simple flannel shirts, heavier button ups, and boots. Then, this article, at Put This On, agrees and disagrees, while at the same time explains that the crossover between mass marketed and produced clothing, vintage aesthetics, and designer high-fashion creates for a very open market, where it’s all about context. A trilby hat, designed by a very small independent, but produced by J-Crew, could be perceived as trend-setting, OR mainstream-gross. Interesting times, indeed, for discussions on style and value.
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