Earlier this year, I revisited the Camber factory in Norristown, Pennsylvania, for a story about how the historic American brand is surviving after the death of its iconoclastic founder, Barry Schwartz, in 2023. You can read about that here.

Surprisingly, when I asked the Camber team if they’d be down to do a collaborative collection of special products for my first issue of Highsnobiety, the answer was fast and direct: Yes. Camber is a family business run the old-fashioned way, notorious for long lead times and big minimums. But a few years back I had the rare opportunity to spend some time with Barry, and I suppose I earned his trust. So I see this as him doing me a solid.

My idea was simple: let’s make the famous Camber 231 zip-up Cross-Knit heavyweight sweatshirt, the piece that made Camber the cult brand it is today, using Camber’s equally-famous Max Weight eight ounce cotton T-shirt fabric. I thought this would be a clever way to flip these iconic garments into something original that maintained the integrity of Camber’s history and principles.

And while we’re at it, I said, let’s make a pair of shorts.

Camber was down and got right to work on sampling. After some back-and-forth to get the patterns right and intense deliberation over the colors, we nailed it down just in time for the collab to arrive this week.

To be honest, I couldn’t believe we pulled it off. And to make this whole thing even crazier: While I was in Norristown recently, Sabrina showed me two new colors Camber had just developed in the Max Weight fabric. This was a radical step for a brand that hasn’t changed a thing, essentially, for decades. New colors??? One of them was the light pink you see here. 

To show off how good the collusion is, I asked three individuals whom I admire for their work and their style, three brilliant writers who contributed to the fall 2025 issue, to star in a campaign of sorts: Sami Reiss, Sophie Kemp, and Chris Gayomali. Because this whole project is so personal to me, I styled it myself. A first for me. 

Please enjoy the clothes, the magazine, and the vibes. Most importantly, support your friends and the businesses that mean something to you.