clee1982
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2009
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Anyway, Private White VC isn't really like Jomers or Everlane. It can be more rightfully compared to Drakes, Bresciani, and Begg. These places are actual factories. In the past, they made for other brands, but now they have their own lines. My Brooks England jacket, which was designed by Timothy Everest under the briefly lived Criteririon label, was made at the PWVC factory. Christopher Raeburn has also used PWVC for some of his outerwear production.
Many factories in rich post-industrial economies have had to start their own line to 1) smooth out the production schedule and 2) make up for what's increasingly offshored production. As a matter of pure efficiency, land and labor cost in these places are often better allocated to knowledge-intensive services, such as design, law, or research. But for places like Manchester, where PWVC is based, these places also often have rich histories in factory production. Manchester was once known as Cottonpolis because of the number of steam-powered textile mills based here. The mills here, at one point, spun about a third of the world's cotton. IMO, you can like the history of Manchester and its production without being racist.
It's true, however, that PWVC is a very boring line. It's basically classic mens' casualwear with upgraded materials. Some brands tell me that they have a very difficult time getting their customers to try something new. This is especially true for companies who don't trade in capital-f fashion. If they introduce something a little more daring, their customers don't buy it. If they do it too much, people start freaking out.
I don't know who PWVC makes for now, outside of their own label. Maybe it's all their own line at this point. But you know, if you're trading the same boring bomber jacket that literally everyone else makes -- and your customers will kick and scream if you produce anything "fashiony" -- then what can you do.
has Barbour/Bestaff pivoted? When I first saw PW that’s what came to my mind actually (sophisticated Belstaff)