Filson’s Signature Jacket Gets Remixed by a Legendary Japanese Designer

Over his nearly 40-year career, Junya Watanabe has worked in almost every genre the fashion industry offers.

The Japanese designer’s taste is so eclectic that it is hard to summarize any trademark looks, but one technique he has returned to repeatedly is layering disparate materials and textures.

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This “cut and paste” layering is the underlying thread that runs through the Junya Watanabe MAN x Filson Fall 25 collection. The most approachable example is the Flannel Check Jacket.

Watanabe started with Filson’s signature Lined Tin Cloth Cruiser and layered on details pulled from the Seattle outfitter’s other workwear staples. The back and elbows are decorated with black and red buffalo check flannel, and the cuffs and collar are lined with brown corduroy.

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Patching it together

Historically, Watanabe’s overlaid designs combined starkly different materials, like faux leather and denim, but his Filson collection sticks to materials pulled from traditional American workwear.

The Flannel Check Jacket looks like a Lined Tin Cloth Cruiser and a wool Mackinaw Cruiser were cut up and sewn together.

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The front pocket arrangement is identical to the Lined Tin Cloth Cruiser, with five pockets in total, including segmented and stacked designs on the left-hand side.

The design diverts from a standard Lined Tin Cloth Cruiser with a wider sleeve that ends in an inset corduroy cuff, rather than a snap vent. The collar is also adjusted with a matching corduroy lining.

Filson’s jacket uses solid brass hardware throughout, including a snap front, but Watanabe’s remix has a button closure and removes the sleeve cuff snaps.

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The only big issue with the Flannel Check Jacket is that it is produced in Japan by Junya Watanabe MAN’s facilities, not Filson’s, which means it does not use Tin Cloth. At least the proprietary fabric is not listed anywhere in the product description, which I have to assume it would be if it were used.

Availability and price

The Junya Watanabe MAN x Filson Flannel Check Jacket exhibits a tamed version of the Japanese designer’s technique. It is close enough to the source material to excite Filson fans, which cannot be said for every item in the collaboration.

However, for a jacket that costs more than three times as much as a new Lined Tin Cloth Cruiser, I would fully expect it to use Tin Cloth and solid brass hardware throughout — two of the American brand’s signature features.

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Of course, hype dictates price, and Junya Watanabe applies the weight of several decades of esteemed luxury design to anything with his name on it. Is this jacket for most Filson fans? Likely not, if for no other reason than the price.

Like everything under the Junya Watanabe MAN label, the Flannel Check Jacket is a statement piece. Retailing for $1,479 and produced in a small quantity, it is a staple Filson jacket converted to high fashion.

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Junya Watanabe MAN x Filson Flannel Check Jacket

• $1,479 at End

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