INTERVIEW: GOLDEN BEAR

Rare are the brands with such an iconoclast and prestigious rooster of collaborations from Thom Browne, Union Made, Brooklyn Circus, Stussy, J Crew, Palmer Trading, Engineered Garments, Kith to Club Monaco today. What used to be a very discrete manufacturer created in 1922 in San Francisco has now emerged as an internationally acclaimed and iconic label. I had the opportunity to chat with Schirley, Golden Bear’s president, a couple weeks ago when I visited San Francisco. On the origins… The company was first established in 1922. My father started working here in 1949 and bought out the company in 1955. The core of our business is the made to order. We manufacture here in SF a full range of jackets (varsity, Harrington, bomber, peacoat,…) mostly for other businesses. It’s all made to order, 100% made in the USA, most of it being made by hand, using the best materials from cotton, leather, linen, nylon, suede to wool. On the fabrication process… What you can find in stores is the result of a long design process. When working on a new jacket, we are striving to deconstruct it and step it up as much as we can, to deliver a new (…)