For 127 years, Filson has been a go-to American heritage outfitter for its high-quality, outdoors-minded, durable men’s apparel, goods and accessories. Over the years the brand has seen the line resonate beyond male consumers and celebrities (counting Ryan Gosling, Chris Stapleton, Jon Hamm and more as fans), but also with female shoppers seeking its long-lasting functional-meets-fashionable styles.
For the first time the label is debuting its full women’s collection for fall 2024, with archive-inspired styles set to hit stores in August.
“For fall 2024, we really wanted to lean into what we’re famous for, which is really our outerwear, bags and the materials we use as a jumping-off point for women. You’ll see a lot of Mackinaw wool, waxed pieces that we’ve had for 100 years in men’s, some down styles and an infusion of new colors and artwork, very much grounded in the Filson ethos,” chief creative officer Alex Carleton told WWD. He added that the collection’s artwork was all pulled from the archive, as seen through on-trend, western-tinged jackets with colors, prints and patterns inspired by antique camp blankets.
The first women’s collection (said to be inspired by pioneering women in history, as well as the 70s-’80s western resort town Americana), includes 32 styles across outerwear, shirting and accessories, priced $98 to $995. Key styles include a heavy, strong assortment of utilitarian outerwear, such as the signature Mackinaw Wool Cruiser; camp jackets, or Tin Cruiser, crafted in lighter, softer versions of the brand’s signature waxed and wool materials. Also, sartorial barn jackets, down layers and elongated plaid cruisers.
“We were pretty obsessed with engineering the right shapes, making sure that it’s definitely not the ‘pink-it-shrink-it’ that a lot of outdoor brands do. We leaned more loose,” Carleton said of the approach.
The idea resonates beyond signature, updated outerwear (which flaunt the brand’s boxy shapes and big utility pockets) and updated rugged twill bags (crafted in Italy with American bridle leather), into flannel shirting (still oversize, but cut slightly closer than men’s) and stellar alpine and ski-inspired, vintage-looking knits.
Although women’s styles have always been a part of Filson’s DNA, Carleton added that this year’s big push stemmed from its ability to build “core capabilities around product development, design and marketing,” and backing from its Italian partner, WP Lavori.
Following fall’s August launch [which will likely include women’s shops-in-shop within Filson retail stores, and a separate e-commerce experience], the brand is planning to release women’s capsules two times a year, and is working to expand the Filson women’s universe with additional categories.
