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"  The first thing designers Nathaniel Crissman, Rachel Turk, and John Blasioli did after signing on to create Pendleton Woolen Mills&amp;#039; Portland Collection, a new men&amp;#039;s and women&amp;#039;s line with a more modern sensibility than the main collection, was visit the company&amp;#039;s archives in downtown Portland, Oregon. Escorted through rigid security that included a fingerprint-activated lock and a steel cage door, the trio were ushered into a room filled with hundred-year-old garments that had been frozen and thawed to preserve against moths. &amp;quot;It was a treasure trove of old fabrics, designs, and advertisements,&amp;quot; Turk, 30, recalls. &amp;quot;We just had our minds blown and got all inspired,&amp;quot; says Crissman, also 30, &amp;quot;and went straight to the sketchbook.&amp;quot;  Pendleton president Mort Bishop III&amp;#039;s mind has recently been blown too. Following successful collaborations with Opening Ceremony and Nike, Bishop realized that not only did a fashion-smart, bicoastal set know Pendleton (a company founded in 1909), they wanted its original Native American\u2013inspired wools hanging next to their Alexander Wang. &amp;quot;We recognized that a new customer was attracted to us,&amp;quot; he says. Setting out to get ahead of the newfound demand, Bishop assembled a team of Portland-based talent to bring innovative design in-house: Crissman and Turk, cofounders of the whimsical, vintage-inspired label Church &amp;amp;amp; State; and Blasioli, who designed an eponymous menswear line as well as stage outfits for the indie-rock band the Decemberists. &amp;quot;It was clear that they understood a younger, more upscale customer,&amp;quot; says Bishop. At the archives, the designers collectively zeroed in on a toboggan jacket estimated to be from the 1930s in black and cream jacquard, which became their inspiration piece, informing both the unisex fit and the woodsy palette of neutrals, rusts, and apple reds for a cohesive line (priced $68 to $650) of sweaters, coats, and knitwear. But incorporating edgier pieces into the line meant differentiating the Portland Collection from the trend-focused precedent set by Opening Ceremony&amp;#039;s miniskirts and cropped jackets in techno-bright wools. &amp;quot;We don&amp;#039;t like the word wearable because it can be a derogatory term,&amp;quot; says Blasioli, 31, &amp;quot;but we wanted to make it something people would still want to wear 10 or 20 years from now.&amp;quot;  Opting for more restrained design, they introduced a riding jacket, a low-cut shift dress with a shearling collar, and light wool shirtings that focused on precise tailoring. &amp;quot;If there was a slight wrinkle on a sleeve, we stared at it for hours until we found a way to shift it,&amp;quot; Blasioli says.  The customer they had in mind was essentially themselves. &amp;quot;We wanted to bring [Pendleton] to our demographic,&amp;quot; says Blasioli. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s what is sometimes called the creative class: photographers, filmmakers, designers,&amp;quot; says Turk. And today&amp;#039;s fashionable set is nothing if not sentimental. When the designers returned to the archives to mine for inspiration for fall 2012, they found a letter accompanying an old Pendleton robe that told the story of a man who bought it in a hotel gift shop near Niagara Falls, where he married his wife 50 years ago; after he died, his kids, who had begged him to replace it, mailed the robe back to Pendleton to give it, as they wrote in the letter, a &amp;quot;proper burial.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;It really made you feel a responsibility,&amp;quot; says Blasioli. &amp;quot;Not to sound cheesy, but it&amp;#039;s an honor being a part of something like that.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/a11789/pendleton-finds-youth-in-its-roots-609101/>