There are few fashion brands that gave their name to a specific item of clothing, and Mackintosh is one of them, a departure from 200 years ago, when a chemist from Glasgow, Charles Macintosh (the "k" was added later), invented the process of gumming cotton in 1823.
He began to dress raincoats that became popular in a very short time. A manufacturer, which later became a company itself, founded in 1895, Mackintosh. A real mackintosh is made of this rubberized cotton and is completely handmade with glued seams, rather than a completely waterproof seal. For a century, the Mac industry flourishes, but the development of imitations leads to a crisis in its production in the mid-1980s. While masses buy machine-cut macs and thus make a reduced price, the Mackintosh made by Cumbernauld, continues its sale to the aristocracy, so to those who afford it, like Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1983, a boy joined the company, Dunko, as an apprentice chaplain and in 1995, while the company was failing, he became sales manager and in five years he bought it and became CEO. Inspired by the legacy of the product, he built a business from scratch that now competes with the most prestigious luxury brands, producing coats for Comme des Garcons, Gucci and Hermes. These partnerships not only bring the funds to help Mackintosh develop their line, but also provide an important marketing platform.
Dunko also understood that the women's market was more profitable than that of men, because men buy only one or two pieces in a few years, while women love to change often color and style, so since the beginning of 2000, they decided to move their business towards women's coats. In 2007, Mackintosh was bought by a Tokyo-based company, Yagi Tsusho, which also owned Barbour. The investment thus financed the new Mackintosh single-brand store in the prestigious Mount Street of Mayfair in London, where the classics of the Mackintosh archive were exposed, as well as its current collections.
Nowadays, Mackintosh is a real empire thanks also to collaborations with streetwear brands, such as Converse and Vetements. A perfect choice every time. It does not matter that the garment is expensive, because the quality made by hand is priceless.
