This GAME-CHANGING bucket hat got our attention...
And led us to two Comme des Garcons alums' under-the-radar brand
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77f19417-cde6-4ca7-9113-b354e7914b61_1684x930.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F20d1511e-e617-43ce-9c92-89c56f071008_3007x2286.jpeg)
Bucket hats: can you ever have too many? Here at BLACKBIRD SPYPLANE we’ve been known to do profound contemplation among luminous mountain mosses while rocking our cherished KAVU joint above — but we stay on high alert for additional vibey specimens.
Case in point: Australian brand MAN-TLE, who first caught our eye with a piece they call the “CAP 2” …
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F27d49e8f-a26d-49fc-9564-87cbe55596f3_1920x1080.jpeg)
What we have here is a 6-panel BUCKERONI consisting of 3 elements that recur throughout MAN-TLE’s entire line: rich color inspired by road trips the designers take through rural parts of Western Australia, where they’re based; special fabric woven at a longstanding mill in Shizuoka, Japan; and a skinny cinching strap, made out of seat-belt tape...
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf08432c-96aa-4802-9059-4e97e414c403_1220x803.png)
Did a brand capable of a bucket hat this nice have other joints?? We pushed further into the MAN-TLEVERSE to find out, taking a moment to admire the classic “CAP 1,” pictured here in a summer-2020-ass shade of lime, which they coated with paraffin wax — a treatment MAN-TLE gives to a bunch of their clothes, like the navy asymmetrical-zip shirt below left, to make them sturdy enough to gorp hard in the rugged Australian bush & also so they look cool as they age.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F16d0936f-200c-471f-9f4b-0b50ede5f2eb_1920x1080.jpeg)
MAN-TLE is still a relatively slept-on operation in the U.S., but was launched 4 years ago by Larz Harry and Aida Kim, a Perth-based husband & wife duo who met in Tokyo while working various jobs for Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons & Dover Street Market Ginza. At MAN-TLE, Harry oversees pattern-making while Kim oversees production. They put out men’s & women’s lines that share an androgynous vibe.
MAN-TLE’s enzyme-wash garments, like the camp shirt above right, have an appealing pop to them … but what sticks with us about MAN-TLE is that if u r the type to occasionally suffer from “GRAPHIC T-SHIRT FATIGUE,” or periodically o.d. on wild prints, like us, it’s cool to find a brand that can get this expressive with solids — in that regard, they’re kind of like the Australian version of paa… ?
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcf796aad-ca13-4ac0-b428-1838de6c3ff3_1710x1080.jpeg)
Their materials research and sourcing is impressive, whether it’s “HIGH-DENSITY MOSS-STITCH JERSEY KNITTED FOR MAN-TLE IN GIFU,” “TRANSPARENT 100% NYLON MICRO-RIPSTOP” developed by Japanese chemicals megalith Toray, or “HEAT-TREATED COMPRESSED 100% NYLON.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff43e25e6-89da-4ac8-84bf-cd51582d1035_1920x1080.jpeg)
ALSO we respect that they make extremely minimalist joints but can get a touch out-there with it, too …. case in point, below right: their “JOJO” work sandals, “made in collaboration with Naito, the traditional sandal maker from Gion, Kyoto.” These are composed of sneaker foam, tire rubber, Kanazawa-grown cork (!), “parachute-grade velcro” (!!) and …
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F89c77d44-dc3e-4d5b-850c-53f3fe6fcbaa_1920x1080.jpeg)
… “a blended silicon used for baby dummys” (??!!)
Dunno if that’s Australian slang for something other than creepy infant mannequins but either way we can guarantee u that if we rocked these flip-flops our whole fit would go “dummy, baby.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F24e8f3cb-3faa-4ed1-8658-f85dccf7575d_1920x1080.jpeg)
MAN-TLE stocks some stuff at a handful of North American shops, including Neighbour, Departamento and C’H’C’M’, but the real MAN-TLE JAWN DEPOT is their vast e-shop, where among other things you can cop their weirdly dope translucent down scarf & liner, which would make a sick layering piece come winter …
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fafec85d3-4da5-42ca-88e6-07b6ea59cefd_1920x1080.jpeg)
Their pricing reflects the brand’s small runs, Japanese fabrication & unique materials — which is to say, this s**t isn’t cheap. But if u toggle on their site from AUD to USD maybe it’ll feel like u entered a discount code… ??
-The MAN-TLE web shop is here
-Their main site is here
-You can find some of their stuff at Neighbor, Reliquary, Departamento, Meridian and C’H’C’M’ too.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38d10890-2d8d-4212-8cf5-20b26afeaf73_295x295.gif)
Share this newsletter with an elite tranche of 25-55 of yr most swaggerful & kindhearted friends, and read more at BlackbirdSpyplane.com. We’re on Instagram and Twitter, too.
Speaking of GAME CHANGING, I did some recon BLACKBIRDSPYPLANE inspired and discovered some FYRE fest exclusive government seized now being auctioned off clothing.
https://www.txauction.com/auctions/911/1/