Men's fashionHipster fashion is sunk so designers have trawled the workwear trend and come up with a new look – think Aran jumpers, wide-legged trousers and rolled-up beanies. But what do real fishermen make of it?
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‘They’re having a laugh, aren’t they?” Nigel Legge is a fisherman based in Cadgwith, Cornwall. He has a sideline in lobster pots, most recently seen in Poldark, which he makes and sells from his shed behind the harbour. But, weather allowing, he is on his boat, Razorbill, from around 5am until 3pm, catching mackerel, lobsters, that sort of thing. In his smock and jersey, he’s also the walking embodiment of the most stealth menswear trend around: fishermen. “The thing is, when you’re out at sea you don’t care what you look like. Which is just as well. It’s no place for fashion.”
In menswear, the time has come for hip young men to take stock. What is cool? What is hip? And if you’re cool and hip, ie a hipster, what does this mean for your wardrobe? Not long ago, there was a look. In its most basic form, it was best described as utilitarian workwear (flannel shirts, slim-fitting jeans, expensive leather boots). But in recent years, “hipster” has become nebulous as an adjective and derided as a social group. Vice declared 2015 the year the hipster died; the word prompts shudders on the Guardian fashion desk. Naturally, that sentiment has ruined hipster fashion. It’s now impossible to wear a checked shirt without looking like a caricature.
But salvation is on the horizon. And living proof that fashion is a chronic pilferer, it’s recently turned to recycling working-class uniforms. The recently coined lumbersexuals (a twist on lumberjacks so as to avoid confusion with the real thing, the key proponents are flannel shirts and selvedge jeans) is a case in point. Up next, it’s fishermen.
On the high street, Topman now sells four types of “fishermen jumpers”. Asos also has a whole section dedicated to “fisherman” hats – ostensibly beanies with a roll. This sounds like your classic fashion gimmick, except that the trend has also gone high-end (this fisherman scarf costs more than £1,000 – in the sale) and even into womenswear, most notably on Loewe’s wader trousers (jeans with upturned hems that look like boots – RRP £595). Much of this trend can be traced to Scandinavia, where brands including Norse Projects, Our Legacy and Soul Lands sell functional fisherman clothing, much of which you can buy on luxury shopping site Matches Fashion and is aimed squarely at moneyed millennials. Mr Porter, meanwhile, stocks real Angler boots by Yuketen. Officine Generale’s fishermen trousers are more dubiously sourced (they are made from Japanese selvedge Oxford cloth), but fishermen trousers they are. The trend looks set to segue into autumn, too – wide-legged trousers were spotted everywhere on the menswear catwalks from Christopher Raeburn to Topman Design.
In womenswear, Vogue declared the Aran knit, a fisherman classic, the jumper of 2015. Real Aran knits took their name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland where, traditionally, they were knitted by the wives of fishermen. The natural lanolin that comes from wool makes them waterproof. They have been largely phased out because they take a time to dry – a friend whose father still fishes off the south coast says her childhood was marred by the smell of mackerel in the house: “Those knits really hold the smell of fish.” Variations are now available at Jigsaw, Isabel Marant and Michael Kors. Another mainstay on Vogue’s shopping pages is Arthur Beale, a one-time rope supplier that has morphed into haute supplier of Breton tops, oilskins and smocks.
The merging of workwear with fashion is not new, as Volker Ketteniss, head of menswear at trend forecasters WGSN, explains: “Fishermen’s knits have become perennial items, and, like Breton stripes and Fair Isle patterns, they are pretty much always around in the autumn/winter season.” But, he continues: “There is a strong trend for fabric textures and classic menswear materials at the moment that is driving the creative reinvention of these perennial items.” Adrian Clark, style director at Shortlist, concurs: “My big prediction for [next season] is for new and experimental ways with cable knit.”
But it is timely – trad menswear (which has become the uniform of new tribes, like the alt bros, Yuccies and kids with money) is in dire need of a new twist, a rebranding or at least a new word to describe it. A few years ago, this sort of utilitarian, practical clothing was occasionally described as “hipster-style” on shopping sites, which automatically rendered it uncool.
Real fishermen actually wear French stuff. Nigel, John Trewin and Danny Phillips all live and work in Cadgwith, on the south-east of the Lizard peninsula, a few miles from the most southern point in mainland Britain. It’s a seductive lifestyle, and it’s little wonder that graphic designers in Leyton want to buy into it. “The French make the best gear, they’ve got it sussed,” explains John. So what do they make of urban lads co-opting their look? “I can’t understand it,” says John. “We don’t think about what we’re wearing. It’s just got to be right for the job.”
Danny wears Norwegian fisherman jumpers (not dissimilar to Isabel Marant), a smock for warmth, and “a little neckerchief to keep the cold out”. John prefers “something wool that’s a bit tighter”, oilskins and a small hat. “We call these buffers because they sort of slip over your ears.” Nigel prefers “a Guernsey or a Jersey top. That keeps the damp out. Leggings, because damp jeans chafe when they get wet. One crack in your leggings and it’s all over.” They buy most of it from online wholesalers, VAT-free, although French company Guy Cotten and Seasalt are their go-to brands. The Guy Cotten poncho bears a resemblance to K-Way’s windbreakers, a nu-lad favourite except at half the price.
So is fisherman a look, or simply chicanery, a tastier word for hipster? Both groups are fond of heritage products, which generally have purpose and are built to last, handy whether you’re on a boat for nine hours or sitting in an unheated warehouse space. And fashion is parasitic by nature. It loves to take a uniform, chop it up and reconstitute it, like ham, into something new. As Luke O’Neil, a contributing editor at Esquire explains, the look has long been drawn from “the signifiers of working class and labourers for inspiration”; if the most recent incarnation was 2014’s “lumbersexuals”, by rights fisherman are the “next logical conclusion”.
Fashion historian Amber Butchart thinks the fetishisation of workwear is a relatively recent phenomenon: “As we reach a stage where fewer people earn a living from manual labour, we begin to romanticise agricultural life from our urban surroundings. We’ve seen this since the turn of the millennium across areas such as Brooklyn, Dalston, Kreuzberg – from lumberjacks to truckers, working clothing takes on a new kind of purity.”
If this feels patronising, that’s because it is: “Yes, this completely romanticises what was an incredibly dangerous, back-breaking and even life-threatening job.”
Still, despite the return to practicality, the leap from fishermen to fashion isn’t that outlandish: “Fishermen have always been pretty stylish,” says Butchart. “In the 1950s and 60s, fisher lads around the coast in towns such as Hull and Lowestoft would compete with each other to have the most flamboyant suits on shore. They would design them and get them made up by local tailors, often choosing bright fabrics or checks from the women’s fabric catalogues.”
As trends go, this one is chocka with parody, which Cadgwith’s fishermen aren’t thrilled about. I explain it’s less about appropriation, more about appreciation. They laugh. Fashion has yet to come up with a natty lumbersexual-esque name for this – but give it time.
What do the Cadgwith fishermen make of other hipster favourites?
Nigel Legge, skipper of the Razorbill
On the trend for rolling up beanies exposing the ear (“helixing” hats) : “To be fair, they do shrink when they get wet so it’s not far off.”
On beards: “They keep your face warm, I suppose there’s that.”
On Jamie XX, Loud Places: “I can’t really tell what he’s saying. I could probably get into it, though, with a bit of time.”
On Yung Lean, Don’t Go: “Fine, yeah, but how do you dance to this, that’s what I want to know.”
John Trewin, skipper of the Silver Queen
On helixing hats: “They’re not unlike the buffers we wear. Bit daft wearing them like that, though.”
On beards: “Beards, yeah, they suit some people. Don’t see the problem with them.”
On Jamie XX, Loud Places: “Yes I could listen to it. Is that a girl or a boy, though?”
On Yung Lean, Don’t Go: “Yeah it does sound a bit like Enya. Not for me. I prefer Killers, Paolo Nutini, or AC/DC to be honest.”
Danny Phillips, Skipper of Scorpio
On helixing hats: “Well your ears would be cold. That’s no good is it?”
On beards: “Think I’ve heard about this. Not new are they, though?”
“On Jamie XX, Loud Places: “Not much to it, is there? Mind you, I could dance to it I reckon.”
On Yung Lean, Don’t Go: “It’s quite nice. The tune’s nice. Doesn’t really go anywhere that’s all.”
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