Image via Netflix
On July 1, the final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 premiered on Netflix. Within the first few minutes of the finale, we check in with Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) as they attempt to escape Russia and make it back to the kids battling Vecna in Hawkins, Indiana. In an effort to keep as warm as possible, they come across shipping crates full of popular American products that had been smuggled into the country and would become their wardrobe for the remainder of the episode: yellow Hulk Hogan T-shirts, Moon Boots, and bright blue ski jackets with red and blue chevron shoulder panels that look like they were pulled straight off of a ski resort in the ’80s. Given the show’s dark and gloomy lighting, you cannot help but be drawn to the vibrant coats whenever they are on screen, even after they are covered in dirt and grime following Hopper’s battles with the Demogorgons.
But the jackets weren’t vintage pieces from the ’80s sourced off of eBay or created by a large fashion house. The designer of the patriotic-colored jackets was Crescent Down Works, a small family business that specializes in down-filled outerwear and has been operating out of Seattle since 1974. Annie Michelson, a Crescent Down Works production manager whose mother founded the company, says that costume designer Amy Parris originally reached out back in 2020 with the opportunity. While the brand has never produced items for a major television series before, she was happy to participate.
“Stranger Things is huge. I heard from Amy Parris and she was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna post Crescent Down Works on Instagram.’ I looked at Stranger Things’ Instagram and I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s 20 million followers.’ I was simultaneously horrified and thrilled,” Michelson tells Complex. “Amy was just delightful to work with and everything that we proposed, they really liked. They were just a really easy crew to deal with. We’re super small. It’s just me, my shipper, and 10 sewers. We just don’t have a huge capacity for a lot of big custom programs. We’re not a big fashion company, so I was appreciative that they were so chill and flexible.”
Luckily for fans of the show, it appears that Crescent Down Works has decided to release a limited run of the jackets for preorder on its site following the response of the finale. The blue, white, and red design costs $875 and will ship out in January 2023. Like all of the brand’s products, they will be made entirely in Seattle.
“This area really inspired my mom and these pieces,” says Michelson. “So it just makes it a labor of love and it feels good to make it here. We’ll do that as long as we’re around.”
We got a chance to sit down with Michelson over video chat for a rare interview to hear more about how the project for Stranger Things came together, collaborating with other brands like 3sixteen, why the company has had so much success in Japan throughout its history, and more. Check out the conversation below.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
First and foremost, how did you initially get in contact with the team at Stranger Things?
Amy Parris, the costume designer, reached out to us. It was a long time ago actually. They had a long production period through COVID. It was a while ago. Maybe almost two years ago. She reached out to us and asked us to replicate a couple of jackets for her.
Is she a personal friend of you guys and just sent a text over one day? Did she reach out to the brand on Instagram? What was that process?
She just sent an email out of the blue and I think what caught my attention was the NDA. She was like, “I need you to sign this before I can ask you a question.” I was like, “There’s one thing to get your attention.” [Laughs] So we did that and then she disclosed who she was and what she was doing. I don’t actually know how she knew about us. If you type in “USA made down clothing” or even just “custom down clothing” into Google, I think we come up pretty quick. I think that was the driving factor behind her wanting to employ us. We have our own factory and we can make it right away. That’s my guess. I don’t know if she knew about our brand. I didn’t ask her. I should have.
Is the jacket that we see them wearing in the show based on an original design that was created by you guys back in the ’80s?
The base pattern for that piece is our down sweater. It’s pretty much the same jacket. We just changed the shape of the quilt lines, the collar, and we did the color blocking. That’s kind of iconic ’80s-looking color blocking. Amy sent us some sketches and an image for this jacket, like a bomber-style jacket with these wings on the sleeve seams. She sent us this photograph and I said, “Well, I can’t make that because that’s not a down parka. That’s a jacket without down. It’s maybe a little insulated, but it’s a totally different jacket.” And I said, “We’re happy to make you something that kind of looks like this and has that feel of an ’80s ski jacket.” So then we just made a couple designs and sent them to her and she liked this one. So that’s the one.
Aside from the sketches, was the coloring and everything all your choice, or were the instructions very specific?
They specified that. The picture of the jacket they sent us was blue and red with some kind of white accents. We knew the color scheme they wanted.
Did you know that the jacket would be worn in that final episode and the way that it would be used?
I didn’t. The only thing I knew about them was that one was for Winona Ryder and one was for David Harbour because I got their sizes. We sent a number of jackets for each of their sizes. Those are the only jackets that were produced and I had no idea how they were gonna use them, but I thought it was super cool because they requested for us to send them extra fabric and extra down, so they could see what the fabric looked like if it was ripped up and destroyed. I found it really funny and great that these potentially would be ripped up and destroyed. I was excited to see the burn marks on the sleeve. There was no down coming out of it, which I was surprised by. You walk into our down room after they’re blowing down, and it looks like the Upside Down, all floating around. [Laughs]
How many in total did you create for each of them?
I sent eight pieces per size.
Are you actually a Stranger Things fan in any capacity?
Yeah. I’m not a die-hard fan, but I actually really liked this last season. I thought it was clever. I thought it was sweet.
Stranger Things is such a cultural phenomenon. What was, like, your initial reaction when you saw that they were reaching out to have you create these items that were gonna be part of this show?
I was really surprised and thrilled. I was a little bit worried. Whenever you enter into a custom situation with anybody, it can be really tricky. It can be really hard to make it exactly what they want. And it’s risky, too, because you don’t know how expensive it’s going to be. But Amy was just delightful to work with and everything that we proposed, they really liked. They were just a really easy crew to deal with. We’re super small. It’s just me, my shipper, and 10 sewers. We just don’t have a huge capacity for a lot of big custom programs. We’re not a big fashion company, so I was appreciative that they were so chill and flexible.
Have you seen the episode? Were you happy with the cameo?
Oh, thrilled. I loved it. It was like their love scene too, Hopper and Joyce connecting, and I loved that. That was happening in Crescent Down Works. I like that we have the ability to do small custom things like this. I just enjoy that part of our business. We’ve always been open to being creative and trying new stuff and new fabrics.
You did a preorder and you’re producing a limited number of the jackets. Did you always plan on that, or after the episode aired, did you decide to?
We didn’t plan on that. We only made a pattern for extra small and extra large, so we weren’t sure whether we were gonna do that. We didn’t know how the show felt about it or if this really was in alignment with our style. We went back and forth about it. But after the show aired, we got a lot of interest and thought, “Why not?” We’ll probably just do one short run. I really only have the capacity to do maybe 30 or 40 pieces. They’re also kind of complex jackets. They’re not easy to make. They’re more expensive than our standard line.
Can you talk a little bit about the production process and what went into making the jacket?
We started with our down sweater pattern, and we just made alterations by hand. We’ve actually since upgraded to digital patterning, but for 48 years, we did everything by hand. So we just altered the patterns to have a different quilt line. Our normal one is just straight lines across. This is a chevron ski jacket look. [The three panels] are actually separate. So they have to be cut out separately, sewn together, seamed up separately. Then we construct it halfway and we fill it down with a vacuum filling machine. Then we sew it up and finish.
How long does that process take on average?
It takes about six hours to make a jacket like this. That can increase or decrease depending on how many pieces are going. If you have a big bulk order of 25 pieces, it goes faster than if there were 2 pieces, but roughly about that much time.
From when Amy initially reached out to you to when you shipped them, was that a really tight turnaround?
Yeah, it was tight. I think it was like two or three weeks. But like I said, she was so easygoing.
I saw the preorder that you have up was $875 per jacket. When it comes to producing things for a show, rather than for retail, is the pricing handled the same way?
Yeah. I sold them the jackets at retail price.
Do you ever hear customers critique your pricing?
I don’t know. Maybe I’m layering my own judgment in too. I think these are expensive. It’s really pricey, but the reality is that the overseas manufacturing has made the market so competitive and I really believe in paying a really good wage to my sewers. They’re really skilled. I want them to have good living wages here in Seattle, which has a really high cost of living. And the materials are more expensive than people think. Sometimes fabric is $20 a yard and that’s three or four yards per piece. So the price really climbs quickly. I price them as low as I can for what I think that they’re worth and for what I think my sewers and I should get paid. But yeah, they’re expensive. They’re pieces that, hopefully, you keep forever. We repair them forever. I think they’re worth it.
I mean, you’ve lasted since the ’70s for a reason, right?
Yeah, it’s true. We’ve been around for a really long time. Our market has historically been mostly in Japan. Folks there spend more for clothing. There’s more of a market for high-end clothing.
Why do you think it has been such a success in Japan?
I’ve asked some of our Japanese clients that question, and the answer I get is usually that high-quality stuff is really highly valued. And a lot of people equate American made with high quality. I don’t know if I’d say I totally agree. I think our stuff is high quality for sure. But I think the idea is that American made is the cream of the crop in quality. Also, that kind of Pacific Northwest, outdoorsy look is really popular and has been for a long time. It’s like an iconic look in Japan. To get those two together, that iconic look with American made, is I think a really big draw for a lot of Japanese buyers.
Is direct to consumer fairly new for you guys?
We’ve only been doing it for three or four years. We’re taking advantage of the e-commerce situation, mostly because it’s just getting too expensive to produce at wholesale price, sadly. I love my wholesale buyers, but the margin is starting to get thinner and thinner. The opportunity for selling online grows. So it’s kind of a no-brainer.
I know in the past you’ve collaborated with other brands. Is that still a big part of the business as well?
Yeah. Maybe 25% of our wholesale business is brands reaching out and doing a collaborative piece. Those are really fun. I love those.
Do you have a favorite just off the top of your head or a memorable one?
Well, my recent favorite has been working with a company based in Berlin called Bless. They sent us this really interesting, woven, sort-of-heavyweight fabric that is printed with these really beautiful images. They’re just wild and wacky. We made these ones with cats — all these woven faces of kittens. It’s just wild. They’re also really sweet people.
Are a lot of your collaborators and wholesalers overseas?
It’s a mix. Historically, most brands are European. But more recently, we’ve done U.S.-based ones like 3sixteen. They’re so nice. And they do beautiful things. I like what they choose and we’ve made really neat recycled pieces for them. They’re actually sleeping bag covers. We spread them all out, all over the table, and cut them each out by hand. They’re really labor intensive, but they also get a lot of attention. They’re doing another collaborative piece this year, too.
Your mother started this company in 1974 after working at Eddie Bauer. Do you have any indication of why she decided to start her own venture at the time?
I don’t know what the conditions were that made her choose to leave Eddie Bauer and start something on her own. I can speak to the fact that she is just kind of an entrepreneur at heart. She really likes being a business owner and doing her own thing.
At what point did you start at the company?
My mom and I used to roll fabric together. That started when I was really young. Maybe 10 years old. We’d roll out fabric together and make these big stack cuts for the cutter to cut the next day. So that was like an after-school kind of work-with-mom thing. I would pack boxes with my brother when we were teenagers. I moved away to San Francisco for a while in my 20s and early 30s, and then moved back and started in a more managerial capacity here about seven years ago.
Why is it important to you to keep all production in Seattle?
I’ve thought about that a lot, because it is a difficult choice. The practical reasons are that if everything’s made here, we can control the quality a lot better. We also have more flexibility with the amount of product that we make. We can make one piece in one color for a customer. It’s a headache working with a contract. You have to have high minimums, and you might get a whole order that’s done incorrectly. So we have more control over the product. We also love our city and want to support the people who live here and the economy here. We have a tradition. We’ve stuck to it. That’s kind of what makes our brand special: our tradition. This area really inspired my mom and these pieces. So it just makes it a labor of love and it feels good to make it here. We’ll do that as long as we’re around.
What’s the best seller?
Our Italian vest and then the down sweater, which is our shorter parka.
What’s your favorite item?
I think my favorite item is the down shirt. I just think it looks cute on everybody.
Will you be expanding in the future with any new products?
Yes, there is. It’s going to be a longer parka. Um, I wanted to expand our offerings to people who might have bigger hips. Our products are unisex, but they’re really built more for male bodies or bodies that are more straight up and down. I want to have some more offerings for folks that have hips and smaller shoulders. We’ll be introducing a few non-down outerwear items, some flat jackets without down. We’re starting to do that just because we now have more flexibility offering direct to consumer.
Are there any other shows or films that you personally think would be cool to work with?
I don’t know. But I want to do more of that. I think that was really fun and thrilling to see our stuff on TV. Our jackets are incredibly warm, and TV and movie sets can be really cold. I wish more crews knew about us. I wish we sold more to crew members.