Before, brand As long as America only focuses on making work clothes that have durable tall, Especially for farmers, truck driver, until construction workers who need resilient outfits. But as time goes by, Carhartt began to attract the attention of the subculture community starting from skaters, graffiti artist, and musicians underground.
Style rugged and statement Strong from Carhartt made brand This slowly transformed into symbols of authenticity and resistance. From the workshop moved to street corner, from the field to the music stage. Carhartt is the first choice for those who want to be different, But stay honest with yourself.
The origin of Carhartt
Carhartt was first established in the year 1889 By Hamilton Carhartt. At that time, He started a small business with only four sewing machines and five employees. The main vision is simple, But strong: “honest value for an honest dollar”, aka honest quality for honest hard work.
In the early days, Carhartt produces work clothes from materials duck canvas and denim the famous strong and durable, specifically for railroad workers who need extra protection in heavy terrain. No wonder, Their made clothes immediately became a mainstay among workers.
Some of the initial designs of Carhartt even still exist today, as bib overall and Chore Coat. Both of them did not just make it through the time test, but also turned into an iconic symbol of the world streetwear.
Not just focus on making work clothes, Carhartt also had a chance to experiment out of his comfort zone. In the 1960s, They start trying to make various new product lines, starting from sports apparel, casual jacket, until jeans. This step is proof that Carhartt is not afraid to evolve and adapt to trends, even though the roots remain strong in the world workwear.
The emergence of Carhartt Wip
In the late 70s to the early 80s, A Swiss designer named Edwin Faeh is traveling to the flea market in Paris. At that time, His eyes fixed on a style jacket "barn-look"What looks very sturdy and different from the others.
The fabric is thick, country, but has its own charm, Until he thought of, “No one can tear a cloth like this.” I was so curious, Faeh immediately bought up all similar jackets that he could find that same day.
After that, He began to research and trace the origin of the jacket. The search finally took him to America, and in the year 1989, Edwin Faeh departed directly to Carhartt headquarters. In the same year, He officially brought Carhartt into the European market.
Faeh see the great potential in Carhartt products, not just as work clothes, But also as brand who can attract various groups who value neat designs, high quality, and still respect the heritage and originality of the special style of Carhartt.
On the other hand, Edwin Faeh took a big step by setting up Work In Progress (WIP) As Carhartt's Exclusive Distributor in Europe. Faeh also began to develop its own version collection which remained rooted in Original Carhartt workwear, but wrapped with a new touch that is more relevant for the European market.
Some of the classic designs of carhartt he modified, both in terms of cut, size, up to details to be more in accordance with the tastes and lifestyles of European young people who are more urban and fashionable.
Not only that, Faeh also began to introduce new designs, even collaborating with various fashion brands and contemporary artists to create fresher and fresher works edgy.
This courageous step produced results. Faeh opened his first Carhartt WIP shop in London in the year 1997, which then developed rapidly into a network of more than 80 shops in various major cities around the world.
The reason Carhartt is now closer to Street Culture
One of the reasons why Carhartt now feels so close to the world street culture is because brand This was successfully connected with a variety of subculture that adopted it as if it was part of their identity. And this process has actually begun since the 1980s in America.
At that time, Hip-hop artists in New York and Los Angeles began to glance at Carhartt. They are not interested because of the trend, but because of the strong quality of material and the appearance of utilitarian that seemed hard, Honest, and what it is, very fitting with the spirit of their community.
Big names like 2pac, Eazy-E, Nas, Until Beastie Boys are often seen wearing carhartt jackets or pants. Accidentally, They joined in pushing brand This comes out of the zone workwear and entered to the ran streetwear.
Not long after that, This wave of style spread to Europe, And that's where Carhartt Wip began to take an important role in various music and cultural scenes underground, starting from rap, graffiti, skateboard, to street art. Brand This is a kind of “unofficial uniform” for urban children who live in the suburbs, but has a spirit of strong expression.
One of the initial proofs of this adoption can be seen in the legendary film from France in the year 1995, Hatred. In the film, The main character, which represents the young generation of Urban Europe, Seen wearing carhartt wip clothes.
Since then, Carhartt actively supports and collaborates with artists, musician, and creative communities that have a vision and values that are in line.
Today, Carhartt Wip has far beyond his status as brand workforce. It developed into a creative platform that opens space for cultural expressions, collaboration, and social involvement. Carhartt also built a community through a variety of cool cultural projects.
They even have their own skate team and independent music departments that focus on supporting local and global scenes. other than that, Carhartt WIP also routinely supports various artists, creative collective, and publish various visual and audio publications that are full of style and meaning.
In terms of collaboration, Carhartt Wip is not playing games. They once worked together with big names like A.P.C., Converse, Fragment Design, Junya Watanabe, Nike, Underground Resistance, until the legendary label Motown.
