SEATTLE — It's a handmade piece of history you can wear today.
“It's one of those pieces that, it's endured for decades and decades since it was patented in 1914. Still remains to be one of our top-selling jackets today,” said Alex Carleton, Filson chief creative officer.
Seattle-based Filson's "Mackinaw Wool" kept prospectors warm and dry during the Yukon gold rush. And the jacket made from that material – the Mackinaw Wool Cruiser – went to work in Northwest forests.
Today, more than a century since it was patented, the jacket's design remains the same, but the work it does is different. City commuters wear it, along with celebrities like country singer Chris Stapleton, who partners with the company. Stapleton even wore one when he sang the national anthem during the 2023 Super Bowl.
No matter who's wearing it, there’s one thing each coat has in common: the jackets are made in Kent.
This Kent factory makes 6,500 Mackinaw Cruiser jackets a year. The 29 pieces of fabric that become one of these jackets get cut by a computer, but making a Mackinaw Cruiser still requires a human touch.
Experienced sewers stitch those pieces together seam by seam, button by button until the meticulous final inspection.
"Once we introduce all the pieces to the line it takes about an hour for it to be all the way through inspection and completed,” said Jaron Danioth, Filson factory manager.
One of the reasons a jacket isn’t born faster is the Cruiser’s plentiful pockets, including a map pocket in the back that’s now obsolete but still totally cool.
"I think this design itself is very timeless. It's something that looks as good today as it did probably 100 years ago,” said Neil Morgan, Filson head of strategy.
These jackets are built to last, like one from the 1940s in the Filson archive collection that would have cost $2.75 back then. Today a wool Mackinaw Cruiser will set you back $495. They're also built to serve: "This was part of an official uniform for the U.S. Forest Service that we would produce here in Seattle. We still outfit the Forest Service today,” said Carleton, showing a green Forest Service jacket from the '90s.
This year, a new Mackinaw Wool Cruiser was built for a birthday. The Cruiser turned 110 this year, so Filson made 110 limited-edition Mackinaw Cruisers.
"The jacket is styled after the original cruiser, but it's also been updated to mimic what we now build for the urban client,” explained salesperson Scott Trewin, pointing out the jacket's lined pockets and horn buttons with Filson embossed on the sides.
The limited-edition jackets sold out almost instantly. Rumor is Filson may release another limited-edition Cruiser in the fall.
Whether you're wearing it out – or wearing it "out," this made-in-Washington coat continues to be a classic.
“It is timeless, just doesn't go out of style and continues to work,” Carleton said.
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