For its latest project, streetwear retailer One Block Down has teamed with RefrigiWear to celebrate the American label’s 60-year legacy in workwear.
The retailer has customized four of the brand’s signature pieces in a limited-edition collection that includes the Iron-Tuff jacket and vest, a heavyweight double-cotton hoodie and rugged leather gloves. One Block Down tweaked the cut and fit of each piece and finished them with reflective stitching and co-branding details, as a closer look at RefrigiWear’s 1960s “Reggie” mascot logo shows.
Priced between 65 euros for the gloves and 345 euros for the jacket, most of the pieces are available in white, black and octane and dropped on One Block Down’s e-commerce platform as well as at its physical doors in Milan, Rome and Paris, which officially opened during Paris Fashion Week in September.
The launch was also marked by the release of a dedicated video campaign directed by Rick Rocha and shot in RefrigiWear’s birthplace, New York.
Established in 1954, RefrigiWear was founded to serve workers in the industrial refrigerator business. The brand’s mission was to create tough outerwear and it became best known for its windproof, water-repellent and anti-tear gear that can also withstand sub-zero temperatures.
At the end of the ‘90s RefrigiWear made its way to Europe and infiltrated Italy’s street culture beginning in 2004, when the brand began to officially be distributed in the market.
One Block Down was launched in 2009 and became known as an observer of subcultural movements through its assortment of streetwear staples and sought-after sneakers. Brands carried at One Block Down stores encompass labels like Schott, Levi’s, Carhartt WIP, Heron Preston and Born x Raised for apparel and Nike, Adidas Originals, Converse, Hoka One One, Vans and New Balance for footwear, to name a few.
The retailer gradually expanded its scope to include accessories and lifestyle objects via labels including Oakley and Le Specs as well as 19-69 and Cassina, among others.