Alpha Industries - 2019.
Photos: Ray Spears
This fall, we're proud to debut our second collaboration with venerable military outerwear manufacturer Alpha Industries. Our first project with them released in the beginning of 2018 to kick off a series of collaborations for our 15 year anniversary, and it featured a three-piece collection of classic Alpha outerwear pieces. For our sophomore effort, we've revisited the capsule collection idea by looping in two classic 3sixteen garments that we're known for: heavyweight t-shirts and chinos. The last piece we chose is the fastest-selling style from the first collaboration: the M-59 fishtail parka. In so doing, we've created a head-to-toe collection that highlights cornerstone pieces from both brands.
Like our first collaboration with Alpha Industries, the M-59 Fishtail Parka features a custom fit that we rebuilt from the ground up to fall in line with the way the rest of our collection is sized. We slimmed out the arms for a modern silhouette while taking care to preserve the atypical angles and shapes that make the Fishtail Parka so well-loved. We utilized a natural undyed Herringbone Twill (HBT) for the body and lined the jacket with a luxurious bemberg - something you'd ordinarily find in a wool overcoat.
Alongside the Fishtail Parka, we produced a run of our chino pants out of the same natural HBT fabric. The Alpha x 3sixteen chinos feature a high rise, roomy thigh and slight taper down the leg. They're finished with a military-style tyvek printed tag that is sewn on the inside of the waistband which is visible only to the wearer.
Rounding out the capsule collection is our heavyweight t-shirt. It is identical to the standard white jersey tees in our core offering, with the exception of a military tyvek printed tag that's sewn on the wearer's bottom left hip.
Then, of course, there's the garment dye.
The varied hues of grey on each piece are a result of a natural garment dye process courtesy of Green Matters Natural Dye House in rural Pennsylvania. We've worked with Winona and her team on a few indigo dye projects now and we love the attention to detail that they bring to every job they do for us. For this collaboration, we decided on a natural iron dye combined with a tree bark tannin to give the garments a beautiful washed-out grey color with cool undertones. What we love most about the final product is the beautiful inconsistency from garment to garment. Due to the labor-intensive process and the way natural dyes work, no two items are alike when displayed side by side, even when the same base fabric is used. As batches of garments enter the dye vats, the strength of the dye changes and must be adjusted and attended to. We are excited to offer a project where each garment is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece.
The Alpha Industries x 3sixteen Capsule Collection is scheduled to release on Monday, October 7th via select retailers worldwide and 3sixteen.com. The M-59 Fishtail Parka will retail for $550, while the Garment Dyed Chino will retail for $265 and the Garment Dyed Tee for $65. They can be found via the retailers below:
3sixteen LA (Los Angeles, CA)
Blue Owl Workshop (Seattle, WA)
Cultizm (Münster)
Rivet & Hide (London)
Rivet & Hide (Manchester)
Understudy (Calgary)
3sixteen (Online)
FWRD (Online)
Alpha Industries (Online)
Withered Fig (Online)
