Style blog A Continuous Lean recently paid a visit to the Rochester factory of Hickey Freeman. The venerable clothier is the final vestige of Rochester's "once booming men's clothing industry" (or almost final).
But as the ACL post points out, the company is still very much on top of its game.
There aren’t a lot of clothing companies still operating in the U.S., which is why it is interesting to see how advanced the Hickey Freeman process and facilities are. Everything is clean, well organized and modern. And all of this in the same building the company was founded in. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
After going through some painful restructuring a few years ago and then re-upping in Rochester, Hickey Freeman has recently been courting a younger, hipper clientele.
A recent ad campaign featured an actor from HBO's True Blood and name-dropped Annie Leibovitz.
They even have a (hella pricey) micro collection with New York City taste-maker Opening Ceremony.
As their fashion cred grows, so too may their Rochester base of operations. It's been at the same location for nearly a century.
The A Continuous Lean post has some great "after" pictures of what Hickey Freeman calls "the Temple." Here are a few "befores."