What was it George Bernard Shaw said? Two countries divided by a common language?
Consider the case of UK urban fashion brand Weekend Offender, a clothing company that’s exploded out of no where (technically known as Wales) in 2004 to become one of the hippest UK youth brands. They’ve done it by sticking to basics, with high-quality material, sharp, no-nonsense styling, and an attention to British youth culture past and present. The results speaks for themselves. Weekend Offender is now being worn by celebrities like Tom Hardy and Liam Gallagher, and is about to make the jump to North America this fall.
As with any urban youth brand, there are a lot of t-shirts in the Weekend Offender collection, but what separates them from the rest of the pack is the way they craft garments that make reference to the historic British fashion trends without seeming kitschy.
For example, look at this button-down gingham shirt, the Dhanni.
Or this cotton beeswax jacket in green.
Waxed cotton and button down gingham are both explicit references to the early Mods, the 1950s English youth movement that gave us scooters and anoraks. But the cut of the shirt, and the color of the jacket make these more than slavish copies of Mod originals. These are actually items that can be work by men who are a little older than “youth”.
So, bravo to Weekend Offender, you’ve made the transition from being just an “urban youth” brand into to being a clothing mark with wider appeal. That’s a pretty good trick.