Summary
- Carhartt WIP released its Spring/Summer 2026 Icons collection with classic workwear pieces in new seasonal colors
- The Michigan Coat and Detroit Jacket return alongside the Double Knee Pant in dusky turquoise, green, and mauve
- New pieces include the nylon Clapton Jacket and the oversized Women's Clark Jacket
Carhartt WIP returned to its archive for Spring/Summer 2026. The brand pulled out familiar silhouettes and added new colors. The approach stays consistent with what the label has done for years. Take core pieces, keep the structure, shift the palette.
The Michigan Coat still has four pockets. The Detroit Jacket keeps its waist-length cut and chest zip. The Double Knee Pant maintains the reinforced knees and hammer loop. These details don't change. What does change is the color range. Dusky turquoise, green, and mauve join the standard Hamilton Brown, black, and navy options.
The collection works because these pieces already have a history. The Michigan Coat started as workwear. So did the Detroit Jacket. People wore them on job sites before they showed up in lookbooks. That foundation gives the brand room to experiment without losing what made the pieces relevant in the first place.
Carhartt WIP also introduced new iterations this season. The Women's Maeve Skirt takes cues from the Double Knee Pant. It uses paneling and metal rivets to translate workwear details into a different silhouette. The result sits somewhere between utility and contemporary dress.
The Clapton Jacket reworks the Michigan Coat template. The brand swapped canvas for nylon and added a sleeve pocket. The change makes the jacket lighter while keeping the functional design language intact. It's still recognizable as Carhartt WIP, but the material shift gives it a different context.
For women's styles, the Clark Jacket offers an oversized version of the Detroit Jacket. The proportions change but the core elements stay the same. Boxy fits have been trending in streetwear for a while now. This piece fits that direction without abandoning the original design principles.
The color choices for this season feel deliberate. Dusky turquoise and mauve aren't typical workwear shades. They push the pieces into a different visual space. Green sits somewhere in between, familiar enough to reference outdoor labor while still feeling fresh.
Carhartt WIP has built its brand identity around this tension. The pieces reference manual labor but get worn in cities. The cuts come from work environments but show up at shows and parties. The Spring/Summer 2026 collection continues that conversation without making dramatic statements about it.
The campaign imagery focuses on the clothes themselves. There's no heavy narrative or conceptual framing. The pieces appear in straightforward contexts. This approach reinforces the utilitarian angle while letting the updated colors and silhouettes speak for themselves.
What makes these pieces "icons" is repetition. The Michigan Coat has been in rotation for decades. The Detroit Jacket has been reissued countless times. The Double Knee Pant shows up every season. People recognize them instantly. That recognition gives Carhartt WIP permission to play with details without alienating its audience.
The new silhouettes serve a different function. They expand the line without diluting the core offering. Someone who wants a classic Detroit Jacket still gets that option. Someone who wants something looser and more contemporary has the Clark Jacket. Both reference the same design history but serve different needs.
Workwear as a fashion category relies on this balance. The clothes need to look functional even when nobody is using them for their original purpose. Carhartt WIP maintains that balance by keeping construction details visible. Hammer loops, reinforced knees, multiple pockets. These elements signal utility whether someone is wearing the piece on a construction site or a subway platform.
The Spring/Summer 2026 Icons collection is available now. You will find it at select global retailers, Carhartt WIP flagship stores, and the brand's website. The pieces follow the same release pattern Carhartt WIP uses for most seasonal drops. Core colors stay in stock longer. Seasonal shades rotate out as inventory moves.