Manchester-based menswear brand Private White V.C. has a 90-year heritage, but it continues to innovate through interesting collaborations while honouring its foundations
In 1932, a red-brick factory on the banks of the River Irwell in Manchester had already been producing clothes for almost eight decades. It was here that Private White V.C. was founded by Private Jack White. Now, in the one-time cotton capital of the UK, it is still creating menswear in the last remaining clothing factory in the city.
There is no outsourcing, no mass-production– all its products are handmade in the same factory they always have been. Its dedicated team of handcrafters include employees who have worked there for as long as 45 years.
Private White V.C. x Garbstore Drizzle bucket hat, £95
Alongside its seasonal ranges – spring/summer 22 focused on classic pieces such as linen shackets, cotton twill trousers, polo shirts and Henleys in a soft palette of browns, blues and greens – Private White V.C. has a staple collection known as The Heroes. This range includes a peacoat and pilot’s bomber, as well as a Ventile mac and Ventile Harrington, which recreate the classic coats in the all-weather cotton fabric that was originally developed during World War II to help save the lives of pilots who ended up in the sea. Private White V.C. has worked with Ventile on a collaboration range, too – a line of macs, jackets and hats is just one of many. The outstanding cotton also formed the basis of a collaboration with London clothing brand Garbstore, whose founder, Ian Paley, worked on a range of rainwear in Private White V.C.’s Manchester factory in the early 1990s.
Blending Garbstore’s tongue-in-cheek approach with Private White V.C.’s production expertise, the limited collection included a mac, a tote bag and the Manchester classic, a bucket hat.
Private White V.C. x Frank Clegg travel tote bag, £750
Other partners include Raeburn, Gill Marine and Permanent Style, as well as car marque Jaguar – each collection blends the partner brand’s unique approach with Private White V.C.’s dedication to quality and long-lasting clothes to create highly desirable limited ranges.
The newest of these is with US handmade leather goods company Frank Clegg Leatherworks. Since its eponymous founder launched it in1970, Frank Clegg has produced leather bags and accessories for men and women in its home of Fall River, Massachusetts. ‘We believe in exceptional products of heirloom quality and timeless design,’ the company says; this blends perfectly with Private White V.C.’s approach of creating outstanding pieces that last. Both companies are an antidote to the prevalent fast-fashion “have it now” attitude that runs through so much of the industry.
Together, Frank Clegg and Private White V.C. have created a limited-edition go-anywhere tote bag, produced in Ventile canvas, with Frank Clegg leather straps and handles, and available in black, navy and olive green.
In Ventile canvas and with Frank Clegg leather straps and handles, this limited-edition tote is available in black, navy and olive green
Private White V.C. CEO James Eden says, ‘We are both very careful who we collaborate with, because quality and craft has to be at the forefront of any development that we launch.’ Similarly, Ian Clegg of Frank Clegg says, ‘I love this collaboration. We live in the same world, we make our own products, sell our own products. It’s a perfect match.’
The new collection is just the latest example of how Private White V.C. works with like-minded companies to blend heritage craftsmanship and focus on quality for exceptional results.
