Once again the most elaborate booth inside New York’s Javits Center, where menswear market week is held, belonged to Duck Head and the two other brands in its dynasty, the high-tech outwear brand Gyde and Crittenden.
Kentucky-based Critt Rawlings is a menswear veteran with deep Ivy roots, having worked at Norman Hilton and Polo in addition to Oxxford. His collection plays up the hunting traditions of Kentucky, as seen in the top image. It is also expanding into every category, all the way down to pocket squares:
Here are some swatches for next season:
Critt also has Norman Hilton’s swatch library, which was kindly bequeathed to him by Norman’s son Nick. Although not Ivy cut, this jacket uses a broken-bone fabric that is a recreation of a Hilton swatch from the ’50s:
Here’s a handsome new triple-patch jacket:
And here’s the man himself with another Hilton fabric on the table in front (along with plenty of hydration). By the way, for a previous Ivy Style post on vertically striped “broken bone” sportcoats, head over here.
Meanwhile, Duck Head continues its expansion into full lifestyle brand trying to recapture the wearable, heritage-driven trad gear of Polo during the ’80s. Here’s a Fair Isle sweater:
Tartan chinos:
Even sweatpants:
And of course plenty of water fowl logos, which bring back fond memories to many a Southern gentleman. — CC
I’m all about people making money, but I’m starting to question if anything written on Ivy Style (within roughly the past year) is not “sponsored content.” I’m seeing some sites specifically identifying which stories are sponsored. I think you should make your audience aware which posts are sponsored by a brand.
“Just state the facts, because the trurh is, everyone can save by switching to Geico.”
That seems more than a little unfair. Lots of ‘products’ are highlighted and discussed here absent of an advertising connection. Three come readily to mind: JPress offerings, BB OCBDs, and Weejuns. No advertising by any of these companies on this site. Even this post isn’t a hard-sell. A few posts back discussed bow ties, No mention of sponsor bowties.com. I would imagine that most thoughtful people understand sponsors are a part of most successful internet businesses. We can also tell the difference between the constant sales pitch and intelligent discussion.
Thanks Christian. Are Crittenden and Duck Head affiliated now?
Any guess on the MSRP of those jackets? I recall the Crittenden stuff was always in the upper price range.
As to those trying to smoke out undisclosed sponsorships, who cares. I think you should assume everything on the web is somehow sponsored content, or seeking to be sponsored content. It is not like Christian is chroniciling his dating relationships and make believe vacations like KJP Kardashian.
I’m with Ward. Christian covers the Menswear Market Week almost every year – at least since I’ve been a regular here (2012). Furthermore, I wouldn’t go looking for these obscure brands myself, so – sponsored or not – I appreciate Christian’s coverage as a service.
What happened to the ‘Ivy’ jacket that Crittenden used to make? Gone now that they’ve been sold to DH?
Who makes the ties on the table in the first picture?
@Get
Duck Head hardly ordered Critt to stop making the Ivy jackets. If anything, they told me they plan to play up the Ivy image going forward.
I believe Critt can still make the jackets as a special order, and I’m sure something similar will return. I’ll get an update soon from DH.
@Seve
The first photo is all Crittenden. The ties are made in the US; not sure what factory.
@Anon
Yes, Crittenden and Duck Head are owned by the same company, Prospect Brands. And the jackets are not high priced but actually the opposite; check his website. They are $595 and made in the Hardwick factory.
Regarding news versus advertorial, please bear in mind I’m one of the few menswear bloggers who comes from a journalism background and am sensitive to this issue. I don’t let brands pay me for a vacation so I can go plug them to my legion of Instagram followers.
The recent Allen Edmonds tassel loafer was presented as news. In fact, I believe I broke that news before anyone, even the message boards. The Hanauer eyeglass case/pocket square was presented as news, as I’d never seen that before. And here the expansion of the Crittenden collection as well as Duck Head is news and part of my market coverage, more of which is to come.
The only quid-pro-quo part of the website is Sponsor News, which is labeled as such.
Finally, because of my determination to allow free rein in the comments section, as well as in our editorial coverage, you’ll note that for the past couple of years Ivy Style’s market week coverage no longer includes the Brooks Brothers presentation.
Thanks Christian. Was just clarifying on which brand they were.
As a brief aside, before this most recent relaunch, I noticed the local Goody’s store (low-end department store) had several racks of DH tees with the old logo. I meant to buy a few for lazy summer wear but they were all gone before I could grab them. Any idea where they might have been cleared out? Are there a number of kids in Haiti now wearing DH tees?
I hope they do provide Christian fine wines, cash or mere swag. I want to read of brands I may not know of and that aren’t going to be placing ads in the few places I might see them. The best thing about that site and woman whom we do not mention was the highlighting of products that can’t afford mass penetration. If they weren’t of interest to us why would he show them? He could just post old pictures taken by relatives.
I come here for the interesting subjects, interviews, and commentary. I find it mostly lighthearted, informative and often amusing. Worrying about the sponsors of products seems nitpicky. I bet I’m not alone here.
CC: this site provides an interesting juxtaposition of fashion, history, nostalgia, fun and writing excellence which, to my admittedly limited knowledge, is unmatched elsewhere. And I’m never judgmental, of course, but anybody who thinks otherwise is simply wrong.
Other (not to be named) sites that once, in their own way, were excellent are now pure commercial rubbish. So don’t sell out. Unless they make you a really, really good offer. In that case do what you gotta do. 🙂
If Christian wasn’t a capitalist, finding ways to monetize this site, I would think him an idiot. He provides a service and entertains.
Vanity blogs, such as Heavy Tweed Jacket and Maxminimus, are there for the author’s enjoyment. There was never any intent to capitalize on their popularity. Some vanity blogs, such as An Affordable Wardrobe, end up going commercial, to greater or lesser degrees (I recall that Giuseppe, the author of AAW, was conflicted about earning money from his blogging). Some blogs that might appear to be vanity blogs, such as A Suitable Wardrobe, are actually part of a business plan (once Will, ASW’s proprietor, opened up his on-line clothing store, some posts ended up being advertorials). Other blogs, such as Ivy Style, are upfront about being businesses from the start, while yet others, such as Unabashedly Prep, do not make their commercial nature so clear.
All too often, it is up to us, the reader, to determine if content is sponsored. Christian has always revealed when an article was about an advertiser (such as when Lands’ End copied Kardashian James Patrick’s woven belt design). Christian, unlike nearly everyone else blogging out there, has always been scrupulously honest about that. He also lets us talk about nearly anything in the comments section, but does, on exceptionally rare occasion, exercise his right as editor and proprietor to remove content he deems objectionable. (My supposition is that since a degree of controversy increases the number of hits he gets, and since more hits means higher advertising rates, he likes a degree of controversy, but he needs to make sure that the content doesn’t veer into the realm of scaring the readers or advertisers off.)
In short, CtrlAltDelete’s comment is off base.
@ Henry Contestwinner
Well said. The quality here is excellent. You just contributed.
Sorry, went to their website but couldn’t find any ties. Do you happen to know where I could get a better look and/or purchase?
As this was a trade show based on coming season previews, it’s possible that ties aren’t yet available via ecommerce. Call or telephone them, though I’m flattered for being thought all-knowing.
A simple omniscient would have saved all that hyphenation business, CC.
I thought of using that word, but opted for hyphenated Old English over the Latin derivative.
Except that the Old English would be some variation of “eall cnawan” (sorry, my Old English is rusty, and I can’t figure out how cnawan should be inflected).