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The concept of a twin-set is, of course, something usually related to women's clothing. A matching cardigan and vest for instance. But the idea behind the Winter 2011 Medic and the Winter 2011 Waist is to create a dramatically masculine twist on the twin-set idea. The key in this case is the fabrication. For the Winter 2011 range we explored what we think of as the forgotten workwear fabrics taking inspiration from specimens in our archive like the French le Super Fermier 3-button work coat. After denim came into popularity people stopped thinking of the older European staples in the context of workwear. But thick, warm moleskin (as well as workwear sateen, corduroy and fishbone) constitutes all the best characteristics of workwear. We built both the Medic and the Waist to celebrate this idea.
The Medic is, as ever, based on the classic men's sack-jacket from the turn-of-the-century. Immortalized in the worker portraits of both August Sander and Irving Penn jackets like this one captured a combination of the formality of a sportcoat with the toughness of workwear. Besides executing our in 100% cotton moleskin, we've updated the fitting and equipped it with ring-and-eye buttons and the backside pocket reinforcing strips often found on examples from that bygone era.
Also built in moleskin, The Waist has been more aggressively brought into this century with a large internal passport pocket, high internal Ipod pocket and a one-hand-adjustable waist tightening system (like you'd find on a modern ski glove). Deep in-seam front pockets have room for more than a pocket-watch and the buttons are riveted through the fabric as well as a secondary woven strip and feature solid copper rivets. In short, we started by examining specimens in our archive, but we've tried to move the concept on.
History buffs will tell you that one of the reasons more guys wore waistcoats in the past was the absence of central-heating. Waistcoats were essentially bodywarmers. In fact, waistcoats were so ubiquitous that to be seen in polite company without one; in just your shirtsleeves, carried the same stigma that walking around in your underpants might carry today. We're not seeking to live in the past around here and these aren't straight reproduction of old styles (though we do refer to pieces like the French Hunting Vest in our archive to learn more about what quality really means). On the contrary, we see them as rugged contemporary staples of utility-tailoring which also happen to be loaded with sartorial style potential.