HACKETT FITS PERFECT IN IT'S NEW JACKET

I had the pleasure to visit the brand new showroom of Hackett in The Netherlands. Recently they moved from Amsterdam to Haarlem, situated in a monumental building from the 1890's, with it's original ornaments. The collection is divided over 3 rooms with each it's own atmosphere. Starting with the tailored collection called Mayfair. Then there is a room for the Aston Martin & Cooper collection. The Cooper collection is a collaboration with the Cooper family (indeed the ones from Mini Cooper) nowadays they are making bicycles. The Cooper collection is sophisticated and functional. The largest part of the main-floor is reserved for the Hackett Casual collection. This room is extended with a conservatory. Club blazers, fair-isle's, cricket sweaters and bow-ties, you named it and you find it in this area. Last but not least the accessory room, this room is one big suitcase packed with shoes, from espadrilles till Belgian loafers, bags, cufflinks and much more. Thanks to the nice staff it was a great experience to see the world of Mr. Classic

ATELIER LaDURANCE - LES BEAUX DE PROVENCE

Some 10 years ago a Dutch guy named Gerard Backx moved to the Southern France and founded a denim brand called Atelier LaDurance. I'm not sure if he named his brand after the river  la Durance which runs in that area. Being out of the picture for some season the brand is back on the shelves, still having it's DNA - The big square flap pockets, cross stitching, and the vichy pocket lining are just a few of the details that define Atelier LaDurance.

WINDSOR SHOWROOM THE NETHERLANDS

Yesterday I told you that I'm longing for Spring, but I couldn't resist to show you the Windsor FW 2013 collection. I had the pleasure to see the brand new showroom of Windsor in The Netherlands and

show you a sneak peek of the Fall Winter 2013 collection. My personal favorite is the unconstructed Harris Tweed blazer, but also the washed cotton blazers are great. Beautiful color stories in Green, Burgundy and Fresh Blue, mixed with grey and brown tones. All topped of with great acc. like woolen ties & bowties, double face scarfs and a collection of footwear. If you see a Duke next season you see the Duke of Windsor.

EDWIN, WHAT'S IN STORE NEXT YEAR?

I had the change to have a sneak peak at the Edwin showroom in Holland. But who is Edwin?

Established in Japan 1947

Mr Tsunemi had a passion for denim, which inspired him to import them directly from the United States as no denim was manufactured in Japan at that time. Used, worn-out and dirty denim which had to be laundered and mended by hand in order to sell on to his customers. In 1951 domestically manufactured denim was available for the first time in Japan. This product was expensive and of inferior quality compared to its American counterparts. Mr Tsunemi was driven to create his own denims, with greater sophistication in fits, washes and quality. In 1961 Mr. Tsunemi crafted the first pair of Edwin denim jeans. Utilising the letters D, E, N, I & M (reversing the M creating a W) he created the brand name ‘Edwin’. You can find Edwin Jeans at the best Denim Stores in Europe like 14Oz, Burg & Schildt, The Globe, Tenue de Nimes, Country House and Mann just to name a few.

HARD AT WORK SINCE 1889 - CARHARTT

History Lesson 

In 1889, Hamilton Carhartt founded the Carhartt company in Detroit. His first products were work overalls made of denim fabric and duck, commonly called canvas. This later became Carhartt´s trademark fabric. Since the early years the brand became dedicated to providing “Best In Class” apparel, tailored to meet the highest standards of quality, durability and comfort.

In the 1930s the Hamilton Carhartt Co. of Detroit brought out a sub brand of sports clothing, with sports meaning hunting. The products were made of a waterproof canvas called "Super Dux" and the logo was a flying mallard. That's the reason you see now an then a logo of a duck on the garments.

Founded in 1994, Work In Progress initiated a distribution network for Carhartt across Europe, introducing a selection of classic products from the original work wear range into a new market. Success was immediate; the authentic Carhartt products quickly became popular with both fans of traditional US heritage garments and with the nascent European urban culture scene.

I met Milco Schermer, the Dutch agent of Carhartt for a cup of coffee and he told me all about the brand, the spring/summer collection 2013, the Carhartt by Diemme collection, and how he ended up in the business (which is a great story).