RANDY'S GARMENTS: A NEW ERA OF AMERICAN WORKWEAR

An age-old emblem of Americana, workwear’s continued prevalence and sanctity as an integral part of American clothing culture has seen the style of garment design and production soar to new heights with the expansion of streetwear throughout the past thirty years. What was once reserved for workers, craftsman and tradespeople has become its own stylistic sensibility, rooted in traditions of design and an ideological standpoint that is dedicated to durability, toughness and a classic sense of American style. 

Randy’s Garments, founded by Floridian Brandon Portelli, is a New York City based brand that captures the essence and attitude of classic workwear brands, but through the mindset of a modern-day label. Established back in 2019 after a stint working at Nepenthes in NYC, Brandon sought to create clothing that mirrored the hardwearing approach of the forebearers of workwear but filtered through his own lens that places emphasis on fabrics found in the depths of the New York Garment District. “New York is just one of the very few places that has a garment centre with everything you need to make clothing. The only other comparable place is Los Angeles,” Portelli commented, “It's all in one 10-block radius of just anything you could think of, really. It's also hidden in plain sight. No one really knows where anything is, if you weren't in the industry. Even people in the industry! I'm still finding out about new factories all the time and new trim sources. It's all high-rises and a lot of the buildings are just filled with different sources of trim and other materials." 

It’s this seemingly endless source of trims, fabrics and hardware all contained within the centre of the city that drives Randy’s Garments and continues to see the brand swelling in popularity for its no-nonsense approach to design and bold use of deadstock fabrics. Reflecting on the unique nature of a lot of the fabrics he uses to create his product at Randy’s, Portelli said “a lot of those dead stock fabrics are 20 to 30 years old, and they've just been sitting there forever. That’s what creates the unique product.” This distinctive marriage between carrying on the lineage of American workwear and the use of dead stock materials from decades ago gives Randy’s Garments a feeling and an attitude that is wholly its own. Comfortable in its own skin, the clothing that Portelli offers, despite being newly produced, is characterful and charming. While not wholly using deadstock fabrics, Randy’s Garments’ seasonal products are crafted with sustainability in mind, using these unique fabrics that are gone when the fabric runs out. “There's millions of rolls already out there, but everyone's constantly milling new fabric,” lamented Portelli, “If fabric wasn't milled for a year, I'm sure there would be no shortage of fabric across the world. There's just so much out there.”

Born from a passion for Polo Ralph Lauren, Portelli’s interest in clothing surprisingly didn’t originate in workwear, but in the forefather of American preppy clothing. “It was always Ralph Lauren. He was a huge collector, and once I got a bit older and realised it was basically all military and workwear references, then I started looking for that,” Portelli said, “once you're really obsessed with it, you can see what everyone is referencing when you're looking at their collections. I think it's a starting point for most collections. Designer or not, it all just comes from the same place: military and workwear.” Moving further down the rabbit hole of menswear led Portelli to where he is now, creating high quality workwear that bridges the gap between the past and present. Moving to New York in 2015, Portelli cut his teeth at Battenwear before moving to Nepenthes, where he first became enamoured with New York City clothing production. 

The more I speak to Portelli, the more I can see the impact that the New York factories have had on his approach with Randy’s. Speaking on the character of his clothing, Portelli said, “There's always something a little bit off with made in the USA, which I like. It gives it its own charm, I suppose, where it isn't so entirely perfect. There's always going to be something a little bit off, which suits the brand and suits workwear. Clothing that is made in Japan is just super clean and perfect and then Italian made products have more of a gesture of elegance. The label really makes a difference in terms of when you see where it's made, you definitely get a different feeling every time.” The importance of Randy’s Garments being made in the US can’t be understated, and it’s evident that it sits at the very core of the brand, Portelli’s ethos and what he wants to do with Randy’s: create high quality American-made workwear clothing that stands the test of time. With this goal in mind, Randy’s Garments is certainly succeeding.