Can I say it? Can I say that workwear has peaked? In a very good way, of course. This is going off of Carhartt’s WIP Spring/Summer 2024 lookbook, BTW.
The new collection takes the best of what people have loved about Carhartt for over a century —fabrics that improve with age, construction that stands the test of time (for actual construction workers) — and upgrades them with new prints and shapes for the contemporary streetstyle set. Manual labor sold separately.
There are some mainstays in here: hoodies, the OG chore jackets, cargo pants, and beanies that've been the go-tos of longtime Carhartt consumers.
But Carhartt WIP also devised some new-to-Carhartt shapes here, too, like the Madock parka jacket with its fishtail hem and elastic cuffs. The coat references vintage militaria — specifically the M51 coat — but is also very appealing right this very minute if you’re already shopping staple spring coats. This is not your grandpa’s parka (though those are good too).
Nor are the 2024 bomber and Carhartt shirt jackets, with slightly sleeked lines and colors that are begging for a Sunday in the park, though they could also handle a 12-hour shift or two.
Most interesting — at least if you’re perusing the collection in the seventh layer of a New York City winter (present company included) — are the crisp cotton poplin shorts and top sets in springtime yellows and pinks and the airy shirts that wear preppy, ‘90s-inspired stripes and all-over heart prints.
Carhartt says that this “series of high-summer staples exhibit a flair for graphics and prints. As ever, an eclectic approach can be seen, with motifs that channel archival Carhartt WIP advertising [Carhartt WIP turns 30 in 2024], woodblock floral prints, and hand-drawn illustrations that evoke summers spent on the French Riviera.”
It’s unclear if anyone has ever actually seen a Carhartt jacket and thought “Oh yeah, pack that for my July trip to the south of France” but let's assume we're going off vibe.
Certainly it ain't too hard to imagine the cutesy graphic print of fruits and dominoes that adorn a collared shirt and duffel bag, the pin-striped swim trunks anyone would look good in, or the V-neck, sleeveless sweater vests in closet-staple colors for beachside wear.
If you squint, you could just as easily be looking at a Jenna Lyons-era J. Crew catalog —that’s a compliment, here.
Peaking doesn’t have to be a bad thing. And if leaning into a sturdy summer wardrobe where we’re at, Carhartt has nailed it. Pun intended?
