Pendleton Woolen Mills goes for the hipster class with new Portland Collection
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Can Pendleton conquer the hipster class? For many, the brand is associated with career clothes and mom jeans, with Indian blankets and plaid shirts worn by the Beach Boys.
But Pendleton has been working to attract a new generation of contemporary customers for the last few years, collaborating on co-branded clothing with action-sports giants Vans and Hurley, with fashion labels Levi’s and Comme des Garçons, and in 2009, with avant-garde boutique Opening Ceremony.
Now Pendleton Woolen Mills, Oregon’s 102-year-old, dyed-in-the-wool blanket brand, is continuing its move into the boutique fashion business by tapping into the indie cool of Portland, the city that exported Stumptown Coffee Roasters and director Gus van Sant, and inspired the IFC comedy series “Portlandia.”
The Portland Collection will include men’s and women’s clothing, blankets and accessories designed by three local designers who came up through the Portland fashion scene. The collection will be introduced -- right after Labor Day -- in 200 boutique outlets, including select Anthropologie stores, and websites, with prices ranging from about $68 for a necktie to $650 for a coat.
I’ve written more about the Portland Collection and fashion’s heritage moment. There’s also a timeline of Pendleton Woolen Mills history, from its first celebrity customer, Apache leader Geronimo, to its recent collaboration with avant-garde boutique Opening Ceremony.
And speaking of Opening Ceremony, the Soho-based boutique founded in 2002 by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, here is a sampling of the other heritage brands it has been instrumental in reviving.
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-- Booth Moore
