Akubra, Aesop and a return to India

Akubra makes 100 types of hat, from stylish to practical. Like the company itself, they are all built to survive tough times.

WISH 1 May 2015

If you worked for a company that was facing declining sales and tough economic conditions, would you take a pay cut in order to keep your job? It’s a hypothetical question most of us would prefer not to ponder, but one that the workers at Akubra were faced with in the midst of the Great Depression. The iconic hatmaker’s employees decided to take the pay cut and the company avoided having to lay off staff and managed to stay in business.

In this month’s issue of WISH, writer Jonathan Lobban visited Akubra’s factory in Kempsey in NSW to find out what makes the brand so special. Despite the fact that people don’t really wear hats as much as they used to and that there are plenty of less expensive headwear options out there, Akubra is thriving. The reason for the brand’s ongoing success comes down to one thing: craftsmanship. “There will always be a market for a good quality hat,” former company secretary Terry Hunt told WISH.

While it may not be as old as Akubra, the Australian skincare brand Aesop is also experiencing something of a global boom at the moment. The company, which was founded in Melbourne in 1987, recently opened its 100th standalone store — in Oslo, Norway — so writer Mitchell Oakley Smith sat down with the company’s chief executive, Michael O’Keefe, to find our how it achieved such growth in a notoriously tough industry. The skincare industry is led by large multinational brands with stratospheric marketing budgets. Aesop, on the other hand, doesn’t advertise, doesn’t have paid celebrity endorsements and ususally opens stores in offbeat locations. That low-key approach has paid off in a loyal — and global — customer base. As O’Keefe puts it, Aesop is “a dog-whistle brand, you either hear it or you don’t”.

Also in this issue is our annual look at the season’s hottest accessories. Our fashion director Ken Thompson’s edit of the must-have bags, shoes and other essential items is bleow.

Our fashion and cover this month was shot in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan in northwestern India. We travelled there with Louis Vuitton to shoot the brand’s latest menswear collection, designed by Kim Jones.

I hope you enjoy the issue.