THE JOURNAL
There are two types of people in this world: those who fight against change and those who embrace it. You might look at a brand such as Peter Millar, with its classic silhouettes, its understated use of colour and its aversion to anything overtly trendy, and reasonably conclude that it is designed with the former in mind. In one sense, you'd be right. This isn’t haute couture or avant-garde streetwear; it’s not trying to turn heads or challenge convention. Put simply, the Peter Millar guy knows what he likes.
But its latest FW22 collection, which is available now on MR PORTER, tells a rather different story. In its wholehearted embrace of autumnal style – as shown by a range of shearling-trimmed jackets, quilted-down gilets, and fleecy plaid overshirts – Peter Millar reveals itself as a brand for the man who isn't just prepared for the coming season. He’s actively looking forward to it.
It can be difficult at this time of year to manage the transition from carefree summer to moody and melancholic autumn, but the prospect of adventures in the great outdoors is sure to soothe the soul. Whatever that looks like for you – whether it’s kicking through leaves in the local park, embarking on epic weekend walks to distant country pubs, or mornings spent whacking balls around the local golf course – Peter Millar’s role is to ensure that you’re suitably dressed.
Weatherproof practicality is paramount, as you’d expect of a brand that found popularity on the golf course; Peter Millar’s Crown Sport range of quarter-zip knits, polo shirts and flat-fronted chinos is one of the biggest names in clubhouses around the world, and the qualities that make it so – sturdiness, reliability, and smart detailing – are carried over into the brand’s wider casualwear offering.
There’s a lightness of construction present throughout the collection that makes its clothes particularly easy to layer, too. To prove the point, we’ve styled its shearling-collar trucker jacket over a quarter-zip stretch-jersey sweatshirt for a modular, versatile outfit that’ll withstand pretty much anything the elements can throw at you this autumn, but that crucially doesn’t leave you looking – and feeling – like the Michelin Man.
Peter Millar’s trucker jackets aren’t the only part of the collection where you can detect the influence of heritage American workwear, with fleece plaid overshirts showing off a distinct Pacific Northwestern flavour. But this isn’t your typical grungy, vintage store fleece jacket. Worn over the same tech-jersey quarter-zip sweatshirt as before, this bottle-green version offers a sleek, city-appropriate choice.
But if the design of its clothes is deliberately unrisky, opting for time-honoured over radical, what exactly is it about Peter Millar that sets it apart from other brands? The answer is its secret ingredient: craft. We’ve spoken before about the brand’s enthusiasm for craftsmanship – how it sees its clothes as adjacent to vintage Land Rovers, mechanical typewriters and Leica cameras – but this is more than just marketing fluff.
Its dedication to craftsmanship was evident when it launched in 2001 with just a single product – a cashmere sweater – and has continued to anchor the brand as it has expanded into golfing attire and casualwear. And it’s what makes it unique today. For a certain type of guy – assured in his own sense of style, in need of a reliable wardrobe for autumn and beyond, and with an appreciation for well-made things – Peter Millar is definitely a brand to keep in mind.