The Story Behind NHL Star Matt Duchene’s Viral Carhartt Suit

Courtney Kramer

In the NHL, where teams preach crest over individuality, players rarely command the attention of men’s fashion magazines with their pre-game fits. But Matt Duchene is doing it in the most no-frills way possible. Over the last couple of weeks, the Dallas Stars forward has been spotted wearing a bold, brawny, totally bananas custom Carhartt suit to games. The sleek two-piece comes in the iconic workwear brand’s signature mustard brown, replete with a Carhartt patch sewn on its left patch pocket. It has, as you might expect, been making the social media rounds in a big way lately.

A native of Haliburton, Ontario, Duchene tells us the suit is a nod to his rough-hewn, roll-up-your-sleeves roots. “Carhartt is one of those brands that represents that country kind of working class, and that's how I grew up,” says the 32-year-old. “My grandfather worked on transport trucks most of his life, and my other grandpa was a farmer. My dad was always doing stuff outside. Growing up in Haliburton, there's a lot of hunters, fishermen, and hardworking people. And living in the South now, having lived in Tennessee and then Texas, it's a brand that represents that lifestyle.”

Of course, it’s not only the proletariat who are partaking in the Carhartt boom these days; we’ve seen the likes of Justin Bieber, Kaia Gerber, Channing Tatum, and Austin Butler wearing the blue-collar staple lately. The everyman look is everywhere, but Duchene—who’s two years removed from setting a new career high with 43 goals, and led the Nashville Predators with 22 last season—actually has the calloused hands to warrant rocking it. Which makes his card-carrying Carhartt guy status that much cooler.

Duchene got the idea for the suit last season while he was playing for the Preds. He was looking for a way to loosen the collar on the NHL-instituted dress code mandating a jacket, tie, and dress pants. “I actually looked to see if Carhartt made suits and they don't,” he says. So, he texted his go-to tailor, Domenico Vacca, owner of Giovanni Clothes in Montreal, and relayed his vision to him.

“I had no idea what Carhartt was, honestly,” admits Vacca. “My son had to tell me what it was. It’s supposedly very stylish for the young guys to wear.”

Vacca, who also crafted Duchene’s draft day look, was tasked with finding a suit in the Detroit brand’s signature Dijon shade. “I went through a lot of my collections and we found the most appropriate color,” he says. “It's almost like a mustardy yellow. We added some patch pockets purposely so it would look good with the logo.”

And as for the logo itself? Vacca transplanted it straight from one of his son’s Carhartt shirts. “He didn’t mind,” he says. “He has so many things from that brand.”

Still, Vacca gives most of the credit to Duchene. The creative blueprint was all his. “I wanted it to be kind of like a modern style,” says the center, who has been pairing the suit with a pair of sturdy Tecovas boots. “The patch pockets on the sides of the jacket and the bottom really gave it more of that Carhartt look and a blending the two styles.”

Of course, one big, gaping miss on the whole ensemble is the lack of a hammer loop on the pants—a utilitarian Carhartt staple. “That’s a pretty good idea,” Duchene laughs. “I may have to add that.”

Duchene first wore the Carhartt suit to a Predators game last year, but it failed to set off the social media storm it’s caused this time around. He’s all for the attention, and feels it would serve more hockey players to stretch their sartorial wingspans.

“As hockey players, people always see us in suits and it's tough,” Duchene says. “A lot of us want to show our personal style and what we’re wearing, but when you're wearing a suit all the time, it can be hard to. But I think in the last few years, guys have branched out a lot more and have started to have more fun with that, which is great. In the NFL and NBA, you see the guys walking in and they're wearing crazy stuff and fans love it. Obviously, that's not really authentic to us, but at the same time we can definitely show our personalities a little when we’re walking in and still follow the dress code and be on par with the team’s standards. You want to be yourself and have fun with that as well.”

And just in case you were wondering: No, Matt Duchene isn’t sponsored by Carhartt. He just genuinely adores the brand. But he’s always down to link and build with them.

“I’m sure [Carhartt] didn’t have a problem with me making the suit,” he says. “I think they got kick out of it. Hopefully they give me a shout and want to do one for real. My agency sent the picture right to them, so we'll see if they like it.”

Originally Appeared on GQ

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