Woolrich Woolen Mills

In the weathered volumes of the history of Woolrich, presumably kept in the company archives in a remote cabin with buffalo plaid curtains, Mark McNairy is writing a new chapter. He’s taking over the esteemed American outfitter after a stellar run by Engineered Garments designer Daiki Suzuki. McNairy (first name Mark, McNasty if you’re... nasty) is not blazing a new trail for Woolrich Woolen Mills so much as using different compass points to steer by.

Where the last few Woolrich Woolen Mills collections have focused on darkly interpreted, rumpled northeast huntwear, McNairy is more concerned with the city. The functionality of the line remains, with durable fabrics (woolen and otherwise) and plenty of utilitarian details, but McNairy’s irreverent humor is apparent. Pieces like a duffel coat in a pattern of tans that looks like exploded digicam and versions of mixed-panel fun shirts are the less serious outdoorsbusiness side of Woolrich Woolen Mills. McNairy also updated a classic Woolrich down parka with a leather placket and clip fastening that add design interest rather than merely repro the past. You’ll see from Woolrich Woolen Mills a full line of wool and canvas bags; bright, scratchy ties and woolly accessories; and shoes akin to McNairy’s Northampton-via-NY “New Amsterdam” line. Marking some continuity with Suzuki’s philosophy, the clothes are still made the United States, although the shoes come from the United Kingdom.

Woolrich built a reputation for equipping people to cope with the demands of a sometimes punishing natural world. With quality and a smirk, the new Woolrich Woolen Mills line is better suited to orienteering through a self-serious world.