What is Champion Reverse Weave? | Aphrodite Clothing Menswear Blog

Champion Reverse Weave

Champion Reverse Weave – What Is It?

With the resurgence of logo-heavy sportswear as the uniform of the street, it’s no wonder that a brand like Champion, with its instantly recognisable branding, would be enjoying a boost in popularity. While Champion-branded goods of varying styles — and quality — can be found in almost any sports shop around the world, the brand also has a higher-end range that is only available in select stores: Champion Reverse Weave. Similar to adidas Originals or Nike Sportswear, Champion Reverse Weave delves into the brand’s archive, using period-appropriate fabrics and construction while modernising the silhouettes to give the perfect combination of old-school quality and up-to-date styling.

Champion Sweatshirt

What Does Champion Reverse Weave Mean?

The history behind the Reverse Weave brand name stretches all the way back to Champion’s genesis. Formed in 1912 in Rochester, NY, the company that would become eventually become Champion was founded by the Feinbloom brothers, who saw a future in manufacturing athletic gear to be sold directly to schools and colleges in the US, a highly competitive industry at the time. The Feinblooms soon discovered that the teams’ coaches were a very demanding customer base, and were constantly tweaking and improving their range based on customer requests and feedback. The signature Champion Reverse Weave knitting technique was born of this period of innovation. Coaches were looking for a solution for uniforms shrinking too much in the laundry when washed en masse. In response the Feinblooms developed a horizontal knitting technique which not only minimised shrinkage but made the garments more durable. This Reverse Weave technique was patented in 1938 (though not finalised until 1951) and has been the core of the Champion range ever since, proving its effectiveness through the sheer number of vintage Champion sweatshirts that are still perfectly wearable despite being decades old.

Champion Reverse Weave T-Shirts

This durability, coupled with the brand’s easy availability Stateside and range of colour options, made Champion a favourite of subcultures across the board, from rappers to skaters to straight-edge hardcore bands. Given these associations, it’s no surprise that street culture titans like Supreme, A Bathing Ape and w)taps have collaborated with Champion on a number of occasions, helping elevate the brand from basics to a bona fide fashion essential, and prompting Champion to form a higher-end line to be sold alongside brands like these. Given the importance of the Reverse Weave knit technique to the brand’s heritage, it only makes sense that they would honour it by naming the line after it.

Champion Reverse Weave Caps

So, in short, buying from the Champion Reverse Weave range ensures you get that distinctive Champion look and branding, backed up with over a century of heritage and expertise to give superior quality and fabric choices: simple.

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