February 7, 2012 William McCullough

18 Waits Spring/Summer 2012

We're not going to rush things or kid ourselves. It's February. And that means winter. But as the saying goes, no winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. In anticipation of those first warm days we're getting set to launch our latest collection, available in stores and online next month. Here's a first taste of 18 Waits spring/summer 2012 from our photo shoot, 'Blow-up', which takes its name and concept from the legendary Antonioni film.

This is our most diverse collection to date. It includes 18 Waits staples like the Thomson Trouser, available in a super lightweight cotton, short- and long-sleeve button-ups and Henleys, signature t-shirts and knits. For the warmer months, we've made two styles of short, one based on the Thomson, the other is a new style, the Wingman, which takes its design cues from military fatigues.

Fabrics were selected for summertime living. Lightweight cottons and linen blends. Colours are light and muted - greys, blues, creams and reds. For those wet spring days we have the waxed-canvas Brigadier jacket. The blazer-style Captain's Jacket is a great layering piece. The collection is super wearable.

Spring/summer 2012 sees a couple of collaborations, one old, one new. We teamed-up once again with the legendary Biltmore hat company to make the perfect summer hat. Using old factory hat blocks we designed the Hunter Hat, a straw fedora with a tall crown and stingy brim. It's finished with a rope band and beat up just a little bit for a lived-in look right off the shelf. Sadly, the Biltmore factory has now closed its doors so this represents our final effort with their fantastic and talented team.

We also worked with our friend, Canadian-born & LA-based designer and shop owner Heather Heron. With Heather we collaborated on a beautiful summer-weight blanket using her signature dead-stock hemp fabric. Perfect for the cottage, the cabin or tent. Trimmed with selvedge linen and our hand-stamped collaborative labels. We also worked with Heather on two new bags, a daypack and a weekend duffel. Both use a heavy-weight black canvas, trimmed with black leather and vintage hardware.