It never really went away though, did it? While streetwear and logomania have now made room for ~quiet luxury~ prep has stood on the sidelines—steadfast, waiting patiently for its return into the menswear game. The Gucci x Rowing Blazers collab announces it with a bang. Make no mistake, this is not prep done à la Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, or Brooks Brothers.
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No, Gucci and Rowing Blazers proffer a distinctly quirky, colourful take on the sporting and social clubs at Oxford and Cambridge; both of which shaped Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson’s formative years. A collection that’s anything but stuffy, the capsule fuses the American label’s subversive take on preppy style with the Italian fashion house’s signature opulent insouciance.
The 15-piece menswear offering comprises colourblocked rowing blazers (naturally) in purple/red and green/white, rugby shirts and shorts, a colourful tuxedo shirt, accessories like ties and baseball caps, and even a set of tails. A motif of the dodo features across the collection; with the flightless bird having long been associated with Oxford, as well as with Rowing Blazers since the label’s inception. “The dodo is at once noble and tragic,” explains Carlson. “I’ve been fascinated by them since I was very young. I imagined our dodo motif rendered in hand-embroidered bullion wire goldwork. I had a vision for the texture of the feathers – and it has turned out brilliantly.”
While the rugby shirts are set to be a hit among the mainstream crowd, we’d suggest getting your hands on the colourblocked blazers, or even the tailcoat. The latter is decidedly unstuffy, exuding insouciant style—with mismatched grosgrain lapel facings in red and sky blue, it’s a fun play on traditional formalwear. Team it with the matching trousers, which are fitted with mismatched grosgrain side stripes. Carlson concurs.
“For me, the hero piece of the collection is a formal tailcoat with mismatched grosgrain lapel facings in red and sky blue — along with the complementary trousers,” he says. “There is a rowing club in the Netherlands where all the members wear stripy blazers. But the club president has a formal tailcoat instead, with mismatched lapel facings in the club’s colours, orange and green. I’ve wanted to make a tailcoat like this since I saw it. I’ve worked on this for some time, and the opportunity to work on a capsule for Gucci Vault provided the perfect opportunity to bring it to life.”
The Gucci x Rowing Blazers collection is now available via Gucci Vault.
Words by Henry Blake
