With over 130 years of history, Carhartt is a benchmark, a cult brand that has broken through at all levels, from the working class of rural America in the early 1900s to the biggest names in the American music industry.

Founded in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, Michigan, by Hamilton Carhartt in 1889 to produce workwear for workers on the railways, the company was initially called Hamilton Carhartt & Company, affectionately known as “Ham” and began with the production of overalls with two sewing machines and an electric motor in a small attic.

In an era of steel, steam and locomotives, founder Hamilton Carhartt was primarily dedicated to making suitable, reliable and durable garments for the toughest manual labour, Carhartt worked closely with local railway workers to ensure that the work clothes he produced met their needs.

The first slogan of the company was “Honest value for an honest dollar” and the success was enormous, within 20 years of its foundation Carhartt had expanded its production in eight other cities, even reaching Canada and the UK.
During the Great Depression that hit the United States in 1929, the company had to downsize due to the drastic drop in sales but managed to fully recover during the Second World War.

From that historical moment on the company’s growth was constant and continuous, in the ’70s and ’80s its popularity grew both among workers and outside the working sector and more and more people, even in Asia and Europe, began to know and wear the brand’s workwear.

This fame led the company to establish a European division of the Carhartt brand on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its foundation and in 1989, Carhartt WIP (Work In Progress) was born, which redefined, modified and adapted the main characteristics of the garments produced in America for a different public – the Asian and European ones – who appreciated design and quality, while remaining faithful to the origins and DNA of the brand.
Since the beginning Carhartt WIP has built a strong and organic relationship that still lasts today with streetwear giants like BAPE and NEIGHBORHOOD, high profile designers like Junya Watanabe and many others.

WIP has certainly cemented Carhartt’s position in the streetwear world, but in reality it was the rappers of the undergorund scene in New York and Los Angeles, who had long worn the “original” Carhartt items, that made the brand a reference point in the global street scene.

Eazy E and NWA were among the first to show off Carhartt pieces, baggy jeans and work jackets became a uniform not only for rappers, but also for street dealers. A 1992 New York Times article explained that New York drug dealers “needed to wear something comfortable, with lots of pockets and to keep them warm”, riding this kind of popularity, New York label Tommy Boy Records had his logo embroidered on Carhartt jackets and gave 800 of them to various artists including Dr. Dre and Tupac.

Over the decades Carhartt has continued to maintain its status as a cool brand thanks to figures such as Kanye West, who was often seen wearing the company’s Detroit garments but also and above all thanks to the legacy that has remained intact for over 130 years, making it a true American icon.