Carhartt, Streetwear, and the Never Ending Search for Authenticity
Photo via Carhartt
Last week I was walking down Newbury Street in Boston with a friend when we wandered into a streetwear store and fell in love with a jacket. It was made in collaboration by Carhartt and Marni. In shape it was a classic Carhartt jacket, but in a green and white floral pattern instead of the brand’s iconic brown color. My friend and I both grew up in rural New England (plus we are not immune to trends concerning workwear as streetwear) so of course this piece immediately caught both of our eyes. The jacket retails at $850.
Workwear as streetwear is back in a big way, and has been for a few years. After having this experience, I began to wonder about the evolution of workwear brands. Carhartt went from a brand supplying uniforms to railway workers to a streetwear staple with designer collaborations. It seems as though this is the only style of clothing that can be found on blue collar workers in middle America, hipsters in Brooklyn, and celebrities in LA. It is a style that transcends class, geography, and politics. To what extent is this trend appropriative, and to what extent is it a symbol of the ubiquitous nature of durable, affordable clothing?
Photo: Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek via Office Magazine
Another example: when I lived in France, Carhartt was everywhere. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, since the French are always ahead of the fashion curve, but I was, because in my mind, the brand is so quintessentially American.
The big difference was that people in Europe were not wearing workwear. Instead, Carhartt products across the pond are specifically designed to be streetwear, coming in trendier designs and colors than the rugged workwear that we so closely associate with the brand. I mentioned the difference to a friend, and she had no idea that Carhartt was originally a blue collar workwear brand. The brand has an entirely different image.
Workwear brands like Carhartt, Dickies, and Wrangler found their way into popular streetwear trends during the nineties and aughts because of skateboarding and hip-hop cultures. Skateboarders opted for these utilitarian brands because of their durability. After all, repeatedly falling on concrete calls for a tough outfit.
Photo: Jeff Vallee via Heddels
In hip-hop, there is a similarly utilitarian history. In the nineties, New York City drug dealers discovered Carhartt jackets, wearing them because they were very warm and made it easy to carry a lot in their pockets. Kids on the street saw what dealers on the corner, who were influential members of the community, were wearing, and adopted it into their own style. From there, the connection to hip-hop is straightforward, and its popularity was firmly solidified when rappers like Tupac and Dr. Dre appeared regularly wearing Carhartt jackets and Timberland boots.
Photo: Ron Galella via GQ
In response to this cultural embrace of their product, Carhartt founded Carhartt Work In Progress (WIP) in 1989 in order to adapt their products for a broader, more trend oriented audience. This outshoot is where collaborations like the aforementioned Carhartt x Marni come from.
While the trend seemed to fade in the late 2000s and 2010s, there has been a major resurgence of workwear as fashion for clout in the last few years. Perhaps this can be attributed to a revival of skating culture, or maybe it is more accurately a reflection of a population with a desire for durable, affordable, and fashionable daily wear. Most likely, it is a combination of these, with a dozen other little reasons thrown in.
It is easy to argue that once the cultural authenticity of these trends wear out, they become hackneyed. When people start wearing Carhartt and Dickies for the clout and not because they are actually skateboarders, or construction workers, or even drug dealers (in other words, people who don’t actually care what is fashionable and what isn’t), then it's no longer cool.
Photo: Joshua Woods via Hypebeast
While I am an advocate for wearing utile clothing that suits your needs regardless of trends, this argument falls through on every other level, especially with workwear. The reason that these brands became so popular in the first place, across use and profession, is that they are hard-wearing, well made, and affordable. In a world of low quality fast fashion and more fashion waste than the world can handle, it seems shameful to chastise people for the ‘authenticity’ of their fashion choices.
While opting for an $850 Carhartt x Marni jacket or only wearing a piece once or twice before discarding it might go against the spirit of the products, on the whole, workwear pieces can be comfortable, lifelong wardrobe staples. As long as workwear brands remain accessible to the people they were created for, there is really nothing wrong with high end collaborations and streetwear trends (It is still pretty affordable, and although Carhartt did raise their prices by 10% last year, that is more likely a result of inflation and not hipsters buying beanies). Whether you want to wear your Dickies while skateboarding or just because you like how they look and feel, choosing an enduring and affordable piece will always be authentic.