New Avant Book Features Rockmount
THE BEAUTY OF THE AMERICAN WEST IS THAT IT MEANS SO MANY THINGS.
The new book Avant just arrived and we love it! It’s a wonderful taste of all things Western. I was asked to write the "preface"– its not everyday that someone wants to know what I think.
The beauty of the American West is that it means so many things to so many people around the world. It wasn’t always that way as Eric Maggiori’s Avant: An Anthology of Western Wear beautifully illustrates.
The thing is, there are as many variations of Western design, clothing, hats, boots, saddlery, music, literature as the people who love it. This is an analogy to the American Western ethos. Every man, woman and child gets to do it their way. It’s a free world and the American Cowboy lives that fact better than most. But at root, it’s an American original. No where else gets to claim it. Sure there are influences, but since this culture began perhaps with the cattle drives following the Civil War, it has evolved on its own terms. An entire culture has resulted spanning all aspects of culture from art, film, fashion and music – did I forget anything? But more importantly its popularity began in the West, it was first popularized by the 19th century dime novels and the Wild West Shows which went across the country and to Europe. Nineteenth century European artists painted it and sent the paintings home. Later it was popularized by dude ranches entertaining easterners. Music and film brought it to people living another kind of reality. Good culture sticks and this one has lasted longer than many.
Western fashion is in my genes many people say, but I say it’s mostly in my shirts. In my case Western fashion has evolved from that of my grandfather in the 40's, to my father from the 50's -- they worked together 50 years -- and now to me from the 80's to today. Likewise the market has evolved and Eric’s book features that span eloquently.
I knew from an early age there was something special in my grandfather’s closet. I stole some of his early shirts and wore them in high school. They were cool. This was before the term “vintage” meant was it does today and since the 80's. Larry McMurtry’s book Cadillac Jack was the first time I ever heard of anyone collecting old cowboy boots. I had been collecting my family’s shirts, but it was not a thing yet. I was inspired and joined the company in 1981 after college. Our core American, European and Japanese distributors helped me appreciate the Americana nature of what we do. Their strong aesthetic and our designs spoke to them, not fast fashion that might last a season. This reinterpretation spoke to our customers at home and abroad. It influenced us to reinvent ourselves and keep on innovating. My grandfather “Papa Jack” was all about doing something different and that is our secret today.
Who knows how culture evolves but we do know the influences. My grandfather had it right back in the 30's when he figured out that mystique of the West is universal. The secret is how you convey and transmit that passion. The beauty of it is that countless people and companies have together presented it in such an amazing range of choices that there is something for everyone. Frequently trends come and go. However once in awhile something sticks. The secret is how you address generation, geographical and cultural gaps. Just look at our polarized politics today, both domestically and internationally. However one thing remains true – nearly everyone embraces something Western whether it is jeans, a hat, a shirt, boots, Navajo jewelry, a band, a tv show, etc...
