Hurley x Carhartt: Weather Bomb-Proof Collab

Collabs have the potential to make one feel special, but mostly fall flat. Too often it’s either an artist you’ve never heard of, or one long dead, their remains whirling six feet deep at the thought of their leeching family whoring out a dead wo/man’s work. When they work they work however, and the marrying of Hurley and Carhartt has produced a handsome, more than useful, set of gear.

Let’s be honest, you’d wear it all.

Waiting for the bus to take me up Shiga Kogen this morning (I’m in Japan, hai!) my algorithm spat out the words “Hurley”, and “Carhartt”. The rest was in Japanese. I flicked through a few slides and thought the Carhartt stuff looked nice, wondering when I’d reach the Hurley. I got to the end of the show and realised they were one and the same. An email to Stab HQ and up the mountain. On returning from the slopes I was greeted by a zip file of fine assets, and an email from )( saying that they’d sent a “seeding kit” (which I assume is marketing for: a box of clothes) to Ashton. Ashton? Not sure what it’s got to do with him. Maybe just the beanie.

Mashed together logos often look pretty off. This isn’t one of those times…

Browsing through the racks in Shimokitazawa the other day (Japanese for “holy jesus vintage shopping!”) I was blown away by how flawless the Carhartt jackets were. Things must’ve been ten, fifteen years old, all in perfect nick. Hundreds of them. If that’s not the hallmark of quality then I don’t know what is. So the tale spun in the video rings true. Detroit heritage that even the slimiest marketing exec couldn’t fabricate, and bombproof garments that last. Hurley couldn’t have chosen a more suitable partner to produce a range of weather-resistant “work”wear.

These are really quite something.

Call me a cynic who’s spent too much time with plumbs in boardrooms trying to dream up reasons for things that have none, but the concept falls a little short. I get it, work wear, for the water, but find it hard to see a weather-hardened prawn fisherman in any of the above. But concepts aren’t always a necessity. Two brands who make quality gear, combining to make a set of flawless one-offs. Simple. 

Built to last (and possibly end up in a Tokyo vintage store).

If we’re talking specifics here then the tees, long sleeves and beanies are nice. Very Carhartt (with a Hurley twist). I’d struggle with the cargo shorts, but that’s just a matter of taste. And the tech jacket’s a work of art. It screams quality and marries practicality and a clean, flattering aesthetic perfectly. Then there’s the trunks. If I don’t get a pair (grr Ashton!) then I’ll be be genuinely a little upset. It’s not an easy charge to try and make a black pair of sensible length boardshorts look fresh, but )( and Detroit’s finest have certainly managed it here. They’ve even got a utility pocket for, well, whatever you want it to be for. The only way I can feasibly see this offering being improved upon is if they’d dressed (Carhartt advocate) Mr Wonderful in a pair and whipped him into a Second Reefer on his custom-made boog (man’s gotta float) at the Banzai. 

First person to send in a photo of one of these jackets covered in fish guts wins a lifetime supply of John West.

If you like what you see then we highly recommend diving in here. The gear will last, stocks won’t.