TOKYO—Linton, an English textile company that is primarily known for being Chanel‘s tweed supplier, is launching its first ready-to-wear line in Japan.
Linton Japan will launch Linton Men with a small collection of tweed jackets and coats starting with the fall season. The pieces are all made with Linton fabrics, but are designed and sewn in Japan. The company is targeting department stores and multi-brand boutiques, and anticipates the collection will hit stores in mid-August.
“The concept behind the brand is accessible luxury,” said designer, Yoritsugu Negaki during a launch event at Tokyo’s British embassy.
“As a luxury line, we are targeting customers in their 40s and up, but we expect actual customers to mainly be in their 50s and up.”
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Prices for the pieces range from 88,560 yen, or $781, for a basic tweed jacket, to 162,000 yen, or $1,429, for a jacket made of a patchwork of different fabrics. Coats range from 118,800 yen, or $1,048, to 138,240 yen, or $1,219.
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“We expect our customers will be the kind of people who can afford to buy a nice jacket and just wear it once or twice a month,” Negaki said. “We don’t see these as everyday items.”
William Linton founded the brand in 1912 in the small English city of Carlisle near the Scottish border. The company still manufactures its textiles in the same town, including all of those used in the Linton Men collection.
In addition to the luxury fabrics, each Linton Men piece incorporates various subtle yet signature details, such as cuff buttons in the shape of the letter L and silver lapel pins showing a dapper English gentleman.
Negaki said the company is considering various possibilities for the brand moving forward. The next steps are undecided, but may include a rollout in other countries or the addition of non-tweed, artisan products just as denim made in Japan’s Okayama area. However, Negaki said Linton Japan is not currently considering a women’s line.