If you’ve ever watched a show made by Taylor Sheridan, you’ve seen someone wearing Filson gear. The 129-year-old outdoor brand is known for its high-quality, American-made clothing and bags that make rugged look fancy and appealing. Ford, the also-pretty-old automaker (which recently released a Carhartt edition Super Duty truck), is known for making many, many Broncos. So many Broncos. You can guess what’s about to happen.
It’s a chocolate-and-peanut butter combination, if the peanut were a $700 wool jacket and the chocolate were a trail-crushing throwback SUV. The first-ever Ford Bronco Filson will debut at a big event in June 3rd, but today Ford gave some journalists a preview at the Filson flagship store in Manhattan.
In addition to the teaser above, Ford also provided one piece of the car inside the Filson store which, I’ve been told, was recreated from a 19th century barn. It’s the spare tire:
It looks good to me. I have no doubt the rest of the car will also look like a Bronco with especially nice touches. Again, I can’t show you the car, but I can show you the vibe:
Will the interior have any touches from the classic Filson Mackinaw Jacket? One can only hope.
Where Ford And Filson Come Together
Dave Rivers, who runs Bronco and Mustang for Ford (clearly, the toughest gig in the company), has been a Filson fan for years and immediately thought the two companies might work well together.
“It was my father-in-law who introduced me to the brand back of the ’90s,” said Rivers, who says he wears his Bronco Filson jacket everywhere. “I can tell you it’s been through the ringer, which is something that we call generational durability… this whole idea of being able to pass something onto generations.”
The first collaboration was for a concept wildland fighting fire truck, which was on display outside of Filson:
Ford donates money and vehicles to outdoor charities through its Bronco Wild Fund and this was meant to celebrate that, although this is just a concept vehicle and not being used (Ford has donated non-concept Broncos).
“Filson and Bronco share a history in the wildest parts of the American landscape, providing the gear and transportation necessary to explore, protect and earn a living from the country’s public lands for decades,” said Neil Morgan, VP of sales and brand partnerships at Filson. “This collaboration speaks to that shared history. We are building on a foundation of purpose-driven utility to bring a production vehicle to the public, offering that same level of field-tested dependability to everyday explorers.”
This experience started the gears moving and, lo and behold, out pops a Ford Bronco Filson that you’ll be able to buy later this year.
Ford Is Historically Good At Doing This
Ford has pretty much always had some sort of tie-up with various clothing and lifestyle brands, going way back to the Bill Blass Lincolns. The most successful iteration, probably, was the tie-up with slightly more proletariat outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer.
One day there were zero Eddie Bauer Ford Explorers in my suburban town, and then the next day there were 900,000 of them, approximately. Maybe 800,000. The iconic green-over-tan look would be used on numerous Fords, including the Aerostar, F-150, Expedition, Excursion, and even the Ford Taurus X.
That deal ended, and there’s been a bit of a lacuna in the Ford tie-up universe. The Filson is a perfect fit in that way.
A Fun Little Treat
As guests of Ford, we were given a chance to get custom coasters made and I got an AUTOPN one for a lucky member! If you get a random coaster in your mailbox that’s what happened.
The post The Ford Bronco Filson Is The New Eddie Bauer Edition appeared first on The Autopian.
