TREASURE IN THE TRENCHES: A Q&A WITH JACOB HURWITZ

When American Trench Cofounder Jacob Hurwitz drove from his home in Pennsylvania in 2014 to tour his new sock factory in North Carolina, he never imagined that he would stumble upon a brand best-seller in a back room stacked from floor to ceiling with nothing but boxes. "It was like the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark" he says, referencing the endless rows of crates featured in the final moments of the 1981 film. Except for Hurwitz, his lost treasure was a pair of tube socks -- knee-high with a classic striped pattern and no cup-shaped pocket to fit conveniently around the heel. Although the cofounder could've thrown these old socks to the side, Hurwitz never forgot that eye-catching design and put the Retro Stripes Socks into production four years later, with some minor tweaks of course. Now that American Trench has partnered with SNIPES and jumped into the streetwear space, Hurwitz gave us the chance to speak to him about the brand and its ability to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers in the marketplace and employees in the workplace.

Can you provide some background on American Trench and how the business came to be? 

AT started as an idea in December of 2009, the financial collapse of 2008 and The Great Recession that followed made a huge impact on me. Our economy felt unbalanced, and the thought occurred - how can we do the best for the people around us? We can make more things locally or domestically and create opportunities that everyone can be a part of. That is what manufacturing did for our economy in the 20th century and it could help us again in the 21st century. Our first product was a men's trench coat, hence the name American Trench. It took my cofounder and I two and a half years of nights and weekends to figure out how to get our initial garment made. We launched on Kickstarter in January of 2013. We also launched with a small selection of socks to go with a trench coat that was over $700. We still sell trench coats and are known for them, but it was the socks that really took off for us. 

What is one streetwear fashion trend that you've picked up on and how has that impacted your product line?

Nostalgia is big in fashion and always will be. In the menswear days (2008 - 2015ish) it was 1950's and 60s tailoring that took men's fashion by storm. At the moment, late 80s and 90's-era style is having a moment. I was a teenager in the 90s so I'm with it. I also like that it's not exactly the same as before and some elements have been pulled out of the archive, but not all. Mohair is a good example. Kurt Cobain's mohair sweater from MTV Unplugged (1993) will forever be cemented in my mind. I've seen a lot of mohair sweaters in the last year, but not every sweater is mohair. I've even seen some cargo pants come back. Back in the nineties, there was a period when every single casual pant had cargo pockets. For American Trench, the Retro Stripes Socks has nineties vibes, but we shortened it to a crew sock instead of knee high or over-the-calf. The striping and the natural cotton are old school, but the length is more contemporary. It feels both old and new and for me, that is the right balance. 

 If you could only wear one pair of sneakers for the rest of your life, which pair are you choosing?

Oh boy. Not easy. I'll take the New Balance 990 V4 MiUSA in grey (or navy). Sturdy, comfortable, hard-wearing, goes with anything. I could wear them to a fashion tradeshow, or I could wear them hiking. I'm very practical in my old age now. 

What is the key ingredient for differentiating your brand from its competitors?

Our biggest point of differentiation is where our product is made, which both limits our choices and, in my opinion, enhances our designs. We have factories in Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, and Texas with employees who craft our products by hand. We work with four different family-owned mills in North Carolina to create our Retro Stripes Socks which are built with a lot of domestic yarns on chunkier, vintage knitting machines. That combined with the American cotton produces a close to home feel you just can't copy. It feels old school because it is old school. It's a little bit of magic. 

What does success look like for American Trench and what is your greatest accomplishment to date? 

Success for AT is to create a thriving company that provides a great a product and a great place to work. The question that started the brand, "How can we do the best for the people around us", is not a joke or marketing jargon. It's real for us. There's dignity in manufacturing, in making beautiful things, we really believe this. We have sold hundreds of trench coats and tens of thousands of pairs of socks. We are in over 100 retailers nationwide as well as Europe and Japan. We have been featured in major magazines such as GQ and Esquire. It feels good to see your product in a magazine, but the feeling only lasts a moment. Our biggest achievement is that the business is finally big enough that this year, 2022, I could offer my employees a health and dental insurance plan. That's a major accomplishment and will help build a strong core for us to get to the next big step. 

Finding diamonds in the rough and bringing contemporary elements to timeless wardrobe staples are what Hurwitz and the team at American Trench do best, but no matter what lies ahead for the business, this homegrown brand will continue to dig up hidden treasures and create instant classics that customers young and old can appreciate.To stay in the know with the latest sneaker/streetwear releases, follow us on our Instagram, read up on our blog posts, and download the snipesusa.com mobile app so you can always keep up with everything SNIPES.