A Work Pant Working Overtime
Dickies makes great pants. We all know this. That’s the reason why they’ve crossed over from blue-collar workers to a ubiquitous piece of legwear, found at skateparks worldwide and flipped inside out by trend-savvy TikTokers.
Pants this accomplished don’t need toying with. However, at the hands of a discerning designer, those rugged work pants make for the perfect blank canvas.
And as of late, Dickies’ hardest working pants are working overtime. But if there was ever a trouser that could handle the gig economy, it'd be one of Dickies' models.
Arguably the best of these notable Dickies collaborations were devised by, of all companies, a barber shop.
Barbers could wear an apron embellished with a series of nifty pockets and hooks to hold all their many utensils.
But not at MR.BROTHERS CUT CLUB, a traditional Japanese barbershop that now has custom Dickies pants to hold all the scissors, combs, clips, spray bottles, and razors a barber could ever need.
Based on Dickies 874 model, the brand’s original work pant from 1967, the MR.BROTHERS CUT CLUB trousers deliver a series of practical barber-appropriate upgrades that're also pretty useful for just about anyone.
Reinforced knees, extra pockets, and a strip of webbing running along the thigh create an extra durable design with storage space aplenty.
But these haircut pants are just the tip of the Dickies iceberg.
Dickies’ Japanese branch began the season with Saturdays NYC, creating formal pleated shorts in the image of heavy-duty jorts.
From there came Japanese label FACETASM with its deep-pocketed Dickies cargo pants inspired by military trousers. Next, Vainl Archive fixed a small stash pocket onto the front of its Dickies pants and added a drawstring hem to adjust the shape.
Even world-famous fashion label UNDERCOVER got in on the action. Instead of making Dickies pants more practical, it turned them wavier through meandering panels of fabric.
Plus, in the name of extra deconstruction, it brought the wash labels onto the exterior.
However, not all the collaborations rework Dickies’ quintessential pants quite so extensively.
Japanese mega-retailer BEAMS instead opted for a simple wide-leg corduroy pair, fellow domestic store FREAK’S STORE upped the proportions with an extra wide-leg, and longstanding Los Angeles streetwear label STAMPD created an uncomplicated pair of double-knee slacks.
Yes, even American streetwear labels are going to Dickies Japan for their collaborations.
Dickies’ homeland will have to make do with a steady trickle of collaborations, such as its recent loose-fit jeans made with skater Mike Anderson. But Dickies Japan is on a tear. Which is good, because these are pants that will not tear.
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