Rowing Blazer Clubhouse 8 Rivington Street New York, NY

 

https://rowingblazers.com/pages/about-us

 

Rowing Blazers is a brand and design studio created by archaeologist, author, and U.S. national rowing team alum Jack Carlson. Based in New York, the brand is known for its colorful, slightly subversive take on the classics, as well as its cult following and limited-edition collaborations.

 

Combining elements from the worlds of tailoring, sportswear, and streetwear, Rowing Blazers combines a reverence for quality and tradition with an irreverence for the rules.

 

Rowing Blazers began as a tailoring house dedicated to crafting club blazers (the world’s first sporting uniforms). Today the brand continues this tradition, making blazers for many of the world’s most storied rowing clubs. But the brand also draws inspiration from the world of sport more broadly, as well as from literature, pop culture, and the American “preppy” canon.

 

Beyond tailoring, Rowing Blazers is also known for its rugby and polo shirts, outerwear, knits, leisurewear, accessories, and fast-selling collaborations with the likes of Gucci, Seiko, Barbour, Umbro, FILA, Sperry, Noah, Tudor, J. Press, Lands’ End, Zodiac, Eric Emanuel, Tracksmith, ’47, J. Crew, Beams Plus, and the NBA.

 

Rowing Blazers has developed a cult following that includes Oscar winners and royalty, Apollo astronauts and Olympic gold medalists, Wimbledon and NBA champions, and other luminaries in art, sport, academia, film, music, and exploration.

 

Rowing Blazers works with some of the best fabric mills, artisans, and workshops in the world to create pieces that will last.

 

Community has always been at the center of the Rowing Blazers brand, and we are proud to partner regularly with a wide range of philanthropic organizations. These have included Row New York, Play Rugby USA, Social Change Fund United, Save the Children, the NAACP, Stop AAPI Hate, the Robin Hood Foundation, the Bee Conservancy, and more.

 

We are a small, young, New York-based brand, as well as a diverse, global community. We invite you to discover our world, and to join us.

Rowing Blazer Clubhouse

8 Rivington Street

New York, NY

Interview with Jack Carlson of Rowing Blazers

 

September 19, 2014 by Ville Raivio

https://www.keikari.com/english/interview-with-jack-carlson-of-rowing-blazers/

 

VR: Your age and occupation?

JC: I’m 27 years old. I’m an author, an archaeologist, and a member of the US national rowing team.

 

VR: Your educational background?

JC: I’m a doctoral student in archaeology currently; I did my undergraduate degree at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown in Washington, DC.

 

VR: Have you any children or spouse (and how do they relate to your style enthusiasm)?

JC: Neither at the moment. But my girlfriend Victoria has her own collection of rowing blazers (and her own equestrian flair when it comes to style).

 

VR: How have you gathered your knowledge of this area — from books, in-house training, workshops or somewhere else?

JC: I first became interested in clothing when I picked up Alan Flusser’s book in high school. In researching for Rowing Blazers specifically, the project has involved a lot of traditional library-based research, mostly in Oxford and Cambridge. It’s also involved many on-site interviews to find out about the more obscure traditions and anecdotes and individual rowing clubs.

 

VR: How would you describe your own dress? Have you any particular style or cut philosophy?

JC: A mix of classic American and British style.

VR: Which tailors or RTW makers do you favour today?

 

JC: The Andover Shop (Cambridge, Massachusetts); Thom Sweeney (London); Walter’s (Oxford, England); Ralph Lauren (New York).

 

VR: Please describe how you came up with the idea for Rowing Blazers, and what goals did you set for yourself in the beginning.

JC: I first raced at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2004, and I was captivated by all of the brightly colored blazers and accoutrements. I talked to some of the British and Dutch rowers about the stories behind their blazers, and I thought, “Someone should write a book about this.” Eight years later, I was living in Oxford, the birthplace of the boating jacket, and I realized I was ideally situated to be that someone. I set out to create a book that is beautiful, well-researched, entertaining (for rowers and non-rowers alike) and expansive (though not exhaustive) in its scope. The stories are as important as the images, and in many cases the stories are as colorful as the blazers themselves.

 

VR: How has the project been received so far?

JC: It’s been overwhelming. I’m thrilled that so many people outside the rowing community are discovering the book and enjoying it so much.

 

VR: What was your criteria for the content of the book?

 

JC: I wanted the book to be highly authentic: none of the “models” in Rowing Blazers are models; they are all rowers who have earned their blazers, and they are all photographed entirely in their own clothes. I didn’t want to try to include every rowing club in the world, but I wanted to hit the high points and to cover clubs not only in the U.S. and U.K., but also in the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Australia, Ireland and South Africa. I wanted to cover blazers that were visually cool, and that had great stories behind them.

VR: Finally, what makes a great rowing blazer?

JC: The greatest rowing blazers in the book are the ones that are highly distinctive — after all, the rowing blazer’s original purpose was to help distant spectators tell which crew was which during races. From a tailoring perspective, the most traditional jackets are made from heavy flannel (though paradoxically they are usually worn during hot summer regattas nowadays); they are three-button jackets with fabric or metal buttons; no back vent; and a soft shoulder.

 

Photos: Jack Carlson

 

http://www.rowingblazers.com