Wrangler celebrates 70th birthday with ‘Retro Glory’ collection

Wrangler is celebrating its 70th birthday year with a series of special launches, with the first being dedicated to all things 70s, a decade where the denim brand made its name.

The ‘Retro Glory’ collection for pre-autumn/winter 2017 celebrates “an era of sunny positivity in youth culture” and focuses on four distinct elements: “period-correct” saturated deep blue denim; Wrangler’s Stone Dyed (heavy stone wash) denim; a bold palette of brights; and the rainbow motif which was popular in the era and has been revived from Wrangler’s archive.

The standalone collection for men and women features its own dedicated branding and labelling, and includes a number of 1970s details such as patching, ripping, embellishment and embroidery, most notably on a limited-edition oversized trucker jacket in Stone Dyed denim with full back panel embroidery by artist Luke McLean.

“The 1970s were at times years of great optimism of fun, which the rainbow graphic suggested,” said Wrangler creative director Sean Gormley. “It’s a look and feel being revisited by pop culture now, from fashion to festival style to hit TV series ‘Stranger Things’. Since the 70s and Wrangler go hand in hand, there’s a natural authenticity in it revisiting this upbeat look.”

Highlights for women include rainbow graphic T-shirts, retro-striped cropped flared jeans, cut-off shorts and skirts and cropped straight jeans in rainbow colours, while for the men there are western shirts, slim tapered fit jeans in rainbow brights and a rigid denim Stone Dyed jean with rips and repairs.

Images: courtesy of Wrangler