Collaborations and Releases with Goral, Fox Brothers, Hidden Forts, and Iron Heart

This week, we present a group of evolved heritage projects and pieces that reimagine styles from the past in an extremely fresh way for today’s wardrobe. We are pleased to introduce and launch Hidden Forts, a new-cult collectible brand from industry veteran Gordon Heffner, whose decades of experience in selvedge denim and heritage retail have been infused into a design-centric vision for the modern jean. A second edition of our sportswear development with Fox Brothers returns with earthy collegiate references, alongside a restock of the first edition for those seeking the most authentic and refined versions.

Our collaboration with Goral continues and expands with a new Barefoot Apron Boot, a sophisticated, limited-edition model for all those anatomical zero-drop nuts out there, while Iron Heart denim finally hits our shores with the 634 in two weights and denim recipes built for the next heirloom-wear project. This release targets style references from the recent decades many of us actually lived through, proving that heritage does not always need to be pulled from a forgotten century to carry meaning. Sometimes the most authentic nostalgia comes from familiar forms made better through materials and a sharper intent.

Fox Brothers x Division Road

Made in collaboration with our favorite wool cloth mill in the world, and working through Fox Brothers’ network of England’s traditional cricket and rugby uniform makers, we bring you an Anglophile athleticwear pack advanced from the archives. Unable to find anything close to the quality and specialty we wanted in this category, we turned to Fox Brothers partnerships to create rugby shirts and cricket sweaters we would be proud to own. After much fanfare following our initial release, we decided to rerun the Black and Khaki Stripe Heritage Rugby Shirt and create a new Forest and Navy Stripe edition in a traditional palette and pattern, revamped for a sportswear piece with all-purpose style applications.

In the refreshed vintage palette, we produced our Cricket Club Sweater using our adapted fit in an exclusive Cedar brown-based green and golden Brass colorway, finished with a hallmark ecru accent stripe as another reflection of the land in premium British merino wool yarn. In addition, we produced a handful of the first-edition Charcoal and Iron Cricket Club Sweaters from the remaining yarn for those who may have missed out and will certainly want to grab both of these intricately knit classics.

Hidden Forts

After a decade-long relationship with Gordon Heffner, one of the original Japanese selvedge retailing icons in the United States, we are pleased to launch his new project, Hidden Forts. With deep ties to Japan’s best denim producers and a network of expert makers and workshops, Hidden Forts offers a fresh take on a category where we often feel we’ve seen it all. The brand applies a luxury minimalist mindset to old-world craftsmanship and heritage standards, shaping refined forms rooted in today’s aesthetics with purposeful restraint and design intent.

With fit developments inspired by the ’90s, ’00s, and 2010s rather than the ’30s-’50s, Hidden Forts revamps silhouettes we in the fashion industry grew up with through our own style journeys of Sugar Cane, Dior Homme, Somet, Tom Ford, RJB, 45rpm, and others. Across a perfected Slim Straight, directional Relaxed Tapered, and clean Relaxed Straight, Hidden Forts offers silhouettes that allow wearers to experiment with, refine, or rediscover the styles they have been waiting to see resurface. The brand’s identity, Rugged Nostalgia, is inspired by making, refining, and giving ordinary materials a new purpose through thoughtful attention. Every piece is handcrafted in Japan from premium Japanese materials, using hyper-considered construction methods that support the design rather than define it.

Iron Heart

Iconic in our heirloom menswear niche, Iron Heart remains a constant as trends come and go. As a brand known for its denim, Iron Heart, along with Japan in general, has reached peak demand alongside peak capacity. The products we deal with are naturally becoming rarer for a variety of reasons, and many devotees are aware of the “shortage,” which simply reflects the truism that quality has a limited supply. For those who have been waiting on Iron Heart’s core denim offerings to be restocked, we are starting to see the drops come through on the new patina projects we have all been waiting for. The 634 Straight fit was introduced with the brand back in 2003 and remains an excellent adaptation of the mid-1960s icon, with a mid-high rise, roomy seat, and straight leg that has kept it among Iron Heart’s most desirable fits for over two decades.

This delivery brings the 634 in two essential fabric expressions: the rarely produced 18 oz. Vintage Indigo denim from Shinya Mills, shuttle-loomed at low tension with a heavy twisted weft yarn, and the signature 14 oz. Indigo denim, Iron Heart’s “least heavy” recipe, made with a proprietary dual-yarn method that creates subtle interior slub and remarkable comfort against the body. Those who know the rhythm of Iron Heart availability will know not to wait too long on these all-season, heavy-hitting denim staples every enthusiast should have in their repertoire.

Goral x Division Road

Goral occupies a unique position within our footwear program by producing premium, recraftable sneakers and casual forms with standards more often associated with goodyear welted and stitchdown footwear. They take familiar silhouettes and improve them for refined casual footwear styles made with the same seriousness of material, construction, and longevity we expect from the rest of our program. Another unique characteristic is their development of the G7 Barefoot Last, with various patterns tailored to correspond with this naturally ergonomic form, resulting in footwear that is anatomically informed while remaining aesthetically balanced and attractive. For the Barefoot Apron Boot collaboration, we are embracing the long-running interest surrounding this style through Goral’s considered interpretation.

Built in a clean configuration that reflects a moccasin with wide toe splay, natural flex points, and a narrower heel to match the true shape of the foot, this style provides a comfortable, function-forward form with a design-centric persona combining workwear and ancient hunting boot references. We sourced a small batch of Horween Timber CXL to provide a heritage palette that honors the original inspirations through Chromexcel’s naturally flexible and durable recipe, then paired it with an organic latex Barry Gum cup sole for the sensation of walking barefoot with protected flexibility. If you are curious about, or fully on board with, the anatomical barefoot boot game, we suggest grabbing a hyper-considered version that is aesthetically driven, crafted with care, and coordinated with your wardrobe through the ease this style is intended to provide.