How Fashion Got Obsessed with Fly-Fishing

Here’s one from the “Uh-oh, where is this headed?” files. Writing in The Washington Post, Ashley Fetters Maloy details how the fashion industry has recently latched on the fly fishing for inspiration. As Vogue‘s descriptions of “fly-fishing baskets” and “hand-carved[?] bamboo fishing rods” below make clear, these fashionistas aren’t bothering to actually learn anything about the sport they’re ripping off . . . ahem . . . being inspired by.

Fly-fishing is a culture that seems to exist outside trends, and as such, it’s been capably outfitted for decades by heritage brands like Orvis and LL Bean, where part of the appeal is that maybe your dad wore it, too.

But that hasn’t stopped the fashion-conscious from casting a curious, covetous glance in its direction lately. Earlier this spring, menswear juggernaut Kith released an angler-inspired outerwear collaboration with Columbia and the Japanese brand South2 West8, which has specialized in tenkara — a Japanese fishing style similar to fly-fishing — for a dozen years. Among the pieces: $190 mesh shirts and $295 nylon jackets adorned top to bottom with fly-fishing gear’s telltale boxy, flap-covered pockets. The outdoorsy Brooklyn men’s boutique Hatchet Outdoor Supply has been stocking fishing shirts lately from the Pacific Northwest brand Manastash, as well as fishing-inspired multipocket vests for daily wear. When the upscale label Bode opened its first store in Paris in March, guests at its opening “looked skyward to the vintage fly-fishing baskets decorating the top shelves and the burl wood trout display hooks for the 1930’s hand-carved bamboo fishing rods,” according to Vogue.

 

 

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Although the cringe factor is high, the Post story is a fun read—even if all you want to do is laugh at the products and the quotes from those who make and wear them. (Don’t skip the comments!) The real fun is in imagining one of your buddies showing up at the river dressed in these clothes.

(Caveat: As a 50-something guy from rural New Hampshire who owns a single suit for weddings and funerals, I realize that I know as much about fashion as these folks know about fly fishing. Treat my opinions accordingly.)

Click here for the full story at washingtonpost.com
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