Carhartt is teaming with iconic record label Motown, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Berry Gordy Jr. founding the label in Detroit, Michigan in 1959.
The 13-piece capsule collection riffs on imagery and ephemera found in Motown’s archive and back catalogue. Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, and Marvin Gaye all passed through the hallowed doors of Motown’s house-turned-recording studio on West Grand Boulevard.
A sateen bomber and rolled beanie both nod to the cover art and promotional pictures that accompanied Marvin Gaye’s seminal Let’s Get It On, while the Snake Pit Shirt refers to the basement recording studio in the home that would come to be known as Hitsville, USA.
A series of graphic t-shirts and hoodies pay tribute to other aspects of Motown’s history, from its multiple sub-labels, to the 1970 album A Pocket Full of Miracles by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
The collection is rounded off with a co- branded record weight and a lollipop-style DJ headphone by Japanese manufacturer, Phonon.
The collaboration will be marked by an event on 13 November at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, with a live performance from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, alongside a special documentary screening from Dazed and NTS.
The Motown x Carhartt WIP collection will launch 14 November at Carhartt WIP stores, carhartt-wip.com, and select retailers worldwide.