At the ripe age of 185, Woolrich–largely regarded as the original outdoor clothing company–has spent nearly two centuries developing quality woolens for area woodsmen, settlers and heritage brand enthusiasts alike.
Proving established yet agile, Woolrich has teamed with premier lifestyle brand Almond Surfboard’s to create the “Wax and Wool” collection, infusing Woolrich’s heritage with Almond Surfboard’s California’s coastal lifestyle.
“We have been talking about the possibility of doing a project together for a couple of years now,” explains Woolrich’s Gehron Burkholder. “After talking to our respective teams and continuing to trade emails and high-fives at trade shows we came to a point where we both felt that it was time to make this happen.”
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Each piece in the collection is 100% made in the USA and designed for the perfect day outside at the beach, something we’ve been lusting for for months amidst this eternal winter.
“At Almond, we draw some bits of surf history inspiration, but our history is only seven years,” says Almond founder Dave Allee, “so having a heritage like Woolrich’s, that is so deeply tied to US history, was a refreshing change of pace for us.”
The collection includes graphic tees, tote bags, henleys, sweatshirts, corduroy walk shorts and a blanket complete with a pocket to store essentials like a matchbook, contact lenses or a flask.
“Almond came in and took our iconic wool blanket and added a twist by designing a pocket to hold all of your necessities while at the beach which is something we had never thought to do but makes complete sense.”
The collaboration also includes custom Woolrich-inspired surfboards that take the classic Almond aesthetic incorporating hints of iconic Woolrich patterns including the classic buffalo check, a topographic print celebrating the outdoors and a custom logo, the “Sheep On A Surfboard,” created exclusively for the collaboration.
The collection can be found both at woolrich.com and almondsurfboards.com as well as both companies’ select retail partners.