Yahoo Movies Watch How This Historic Outdoor Gear Company Crafts the Toughest Clothes Around
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“Everybody’s got a Filson story.”
That’s what Alex Carleton, Chief Creative Officer at Filson, says in the latest episode of the Popular Mechanics series “MADE HERE.” The outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer’s customers have testified how Filson gear helped them survive the elements after disasters like plane crashes left them exposed to freezing temperatures.
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Credit the company’s longstanding—and we mean long—dedication to its craft.
C.C. Filson’s Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Manufacturers launched back in 1897 as an outfitter for people working in the forestry industry. Over the last century-plus, the Seattle-based company—which still maintains its original headquarters—has evolved to produce luggage, men’s and women’s workwear, hunting and camping gear, and even accessories for dogs.
“We really think about the function, the end use,” Carleton says. “That almost surpasses style. The style is the byproduct of gear and goods that are really made to work in the outdoors.”
Take the Mackinaw Cruiser jacket, for example, which Filson has produced for more than 100 years. It features a full-width pocket across the entire back for storing maps and charts, which came in handy for surveyors and prospectors.
“Many of the elements to this jacket also are very purpose-driven, so it’s been functional for its [intended] use and hasn’t changed,” says Jaron Danioth, Filson’s apparel plant manager.
Carleton echoes those sentiments. “There is just a core of the brand that is monolithic,” he says. “It doesn’t change. It’s something that people can always rely on and it sort of blows in the face of trend. It’s just a real solid brand that I think has every possibility of being here for another century.”
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