crooked tongues magazine News Features

Carhartt are a brand that's always on-point. They were here before you discovered the joys of brown duck canvas and they'll be around when you've moved on too. After a few years when collaborations were kept to a bare bones minimum (though the Japanese Stussy and BAPE pieces were tough), they've dropped some considered gems this year with the likes of eYe Junya Watanabe and A.PC. that displayed a certain reverence for the power of Carhartt's long-lasting fabrics.

However, if you got us in headlocks and asked us what our favourite collaboration was, we'd probably splutter that it's the Tommy Boy one. If you tightened your grip and bellowed that that's not necessarily a real colab, we'd say it was the Vans one from 2008 before you loosened your grip. Why? Because Half Cabs and Chukkas are as essential in a wardrobe as a chore coat, the price was right and it was something that brought out the spirit of '91 and '92, from Matt Hensley to Apache (R.I.P.). As Carhartt Europe keeps on killing it (and their showroom archive expands in style), we knew we were due another set of Vans after they were covered in a recent Brand Book edition.

The byproduct this time is a trio (of which two are pictured here) of Authentics in what looks like Carhartt palette picks like camel and moss that implement ripstop nylon and suede. Ripstop's long been a core component of a few Carhartt Europe releases we've gathered over the years that are still going strong to the present day. And having been around since 1966, who's testing the Authentic (aka. Style 44)? It's a shoe that takes to two tones or textures like no other, and while this series isn't as immediate with the connotations, the bright outsole, that legendary 'C' patch on the footbed and subtle modification to the heeltab all works very well indeed. These are scheduled to drop (along with that elusive third makeup) in January at Carhartt stores.

But because it's Christmas time, there's a tie-in competition for one lucky winner to grab a pair of their choice courtesy of Carhartt UK plus a full Carhartt outfit in a competition we're running with our buddies Clash Magazine right here: www.clashmusic.com/win/win-crooked-tongues-goodies