Exclusive capsule riffs on imagery and ephemera found in Motown’s archive and back catalogue.
A new exclusive capsule collection from Carhartt WIP is helping to mark the 60th anniversary of the iconic Motown record label.
The 13-piece range celebrates the idiosyncrasies of a label which reshaped American culture.
Founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy Jr in Detroit, Michigan, global stars including Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Four Tops, Steve Wonder, The Jackson 5 and Marvin Gaye all passed through the doors of Motown’s two-story house-turned-recording studio on West Grand Boulevard.
Carhartt’s collection riffs on imagery and ephemera found in Motown’s archive and back catalogue.
A sateen bomber and rolled beanie both nod to the cover art and promotional pictures that accompanied Marvin Gaye’s 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 November 13 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, with a live performance from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, as well as the first airing of Showing Up, Showing Out, the final part of a three-part documentary series in partnership with Dazed and NTS.
The Motown x Carhartt WIP collection will the launch worldwide on November 14 in stores and online.
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