The Carhartt WIP Archives
Back in the eighties, when the Western world was deluged by a wave of blue denim, Carhartt’s brown duck work coats entered the streets as an antidote. Detached from their original purpose of attiring hardworking men in mines and on railroad tracks, they arrived in our cities as some sort of new anti-denim. Soon after, through its cooperation with the European distributor Work in Progress, the American workwear classic would spawn Carhartt WIP.
THE CARHARTT WIP ARCHIVES is the first-ever publication to explore the brand’s remarkable evolution. Edited by Michel Lebugle and Anna Sinofzik, with texts by Gary Warnett, Mark Kessler and Anna Sinofzik, it features over 350 images of unpublished photographs, artworks, as well as memorabilia drawn from the company’s own archives and different private collections, providing an unparalleled look into Carhartt WIP’s universe.
Published by Rizzoli with different cover versions for its US-American and international distribution, the book will be available at selected bookshops worldwide and arrives at Carhartt WIP stores today.
THE CARHARTT WIP ARCHIVES presents itself as a diverse visual voyage. Less conceived as a complete survey on the brand’s history, but rather as a celebratory, transatlantic stroll along some of its most formative moments, the publication traces Carhartt WIP’s close connections with various creative scenes and subcultures; from Detroit to Berlin, Paris to Tokyo — and beyond. Preluding with a series of portraits of the Hip Hop community that brought Carhartt clothing to the streets in the early nineties, the book takes us back to the days when WIP was still a fledgling European line and licensee; then into the brand’s remarkable route to success.
Portraying many of the musicians, artists, and collaborations that have been part of that journey, it brims with re-encounters and never-before-seen content.
Not short of re-discoveries either, it brings back iconic styles, items that are no longer produced, and the brand’s most memorable illustration campaigns.
The publication is complemented with quotes from some of the brand’s most important protagonists, frequent collaborators, and a selection of cultural figures WIP has supported and bonded with over the years, providing access to insightful perspectives, personal statements and stories. Rounded off with an appendix recapping Carhartt’s American origins, as well as three comprehensive essays looking into the brand’s iconic history on both sides of the Atlantic, THE CARHARTT WIP ARCHIVES, does not only document the development of a company, but also of culture itself.
