Everyone loves good vintage. Clothing, furniture, wine. Stuff that has that elusive quality of character granted to favorite things by time and care. Vintage shopping today can be frustrating, though. Even as the internet has opened up a global market for vintage clothing, competition among capital-C Collectors for treasured pieces can be disheartening. Luckily for Nigel Cabourn, he was buying up England's choicest 20th century work clothing and militaria well before anyone else gave a damn. Luckily for everyone else, Mr. Cabourn has been channeling his ridiculous body of knowledge and his outstanding personal collection into his self-titled clothing line--possibly the finest neovintage menswear in the world.
Cabourn has appropriated details, fabrics, and styling from old British army uniforms, from expeditionary equipment, from British colonial clothing, and thoughtfully applied them to his own designs. He is an old hand at making old clothing new again--when he talks of his signature pieces, he's not talking seasons; he's talking decades. He's been making a version of his iconic Cameraman Jacket for nearly 10 years. Working with flight-jacket-style slide buttons since the early 80s. Working with riri zippers since the 1970s. Recently he's been working with the factories that made the original issue for the British military over 60 years ago. His stuff is as timeless and British as a gin and tonic.
Despite the antique aura that surrounds Cabourn, the Nigel Cabourn line is never dusty or stale. Every season brings new fabrics and new designs. The current Arctic Parka stuffs cotton ventile with goose down and trims the collar with sheepskin and coyote fur. The Cameraman was recently made with Harris tweed and Mackintosh fabric. An old piece in his personal closet inspired an updated car coat with a sheepskin collar. Linen suits and cricket jackets were inspired by the clothing worn during British conflict with the Japanese in 1940s Burma. Cabourn's cuts are also a relief to anyone who has tired of the all-slim silhouette--his clothes have volume and flow.
Even with 40 years working in men's clothing, Cabourn has more inspiration to mine, and future seasons are today just a twinkle behind his tortoiseshell glasses. Cabourn is a vintage man.