Stout clobber? Guinness tie-up features £1,295 ‘pub carpet’ jumper
Brand enlists JW Anderson to help brew up 17-piece range of luxury fashionwear, from ‘beer towel’ shorts to branded trousers and topsYou too can look like a pub carpet – and for the bargain price of £1,295.Such sartorial elegance – perhaps an option for anyone stepping out to celebrate St Patrick’s Day this week – is the aesthetic love-child of a partnership between Guinness and the luxury clothing brand JW Anderson.The tie-up, launched earlier this month, allows fashionistas to get their hands on a range of Guinness wear that exploits the continuing metamorphosis of the “black stuff” from unfashionable pub staple to social media status symbol.The 17-piece range features everything from elasticated shorts that look like a beer towel (£440) to an £850 Irish wool jumper, featuring the Guinness harp logo set against a cloudy cream that nods subtly to the head on a well-poured pint.The range is fronted by the actor Joe Alwyn and the rapper Little Simz, and “pulls from vintage brewery uniforms, Irish pub interiors and archival graphics, translating them into denim workwear, twisted jeans, towelling sets and knitwear”.
The most expensive item is a unisex V-neck jumper that uses textured Jacquard stitches to “recreate the feel of pub carpets”, a snip at £1,295.The partnership further cements the branding overhaul that has transformed the image of Guinness, owned by the global drinks maker Diageo, from beer to lifestyle brand.Backed by Diageo’s £2.7bn marketing war chest, Guinness has shaken off its “old man” reputation, becoming a stalwart of pub culture for gen Z, despite the cohort’s more abstemious approach when it comes to alcohol.Increased custom from younger people and women sent Guinness’s market share in pubs to a new high of 17.
5% in 2025, helping it retain top spot as the UK’s top-selling beer, with more than 2m pints pulled every day.A rising tide of Guinness appears to have lifted all boats, with fans branching out into other “nitro” stouts – so called because of the nitrogenation process, pioneered by Guinness, that gives the drink its smooth mouthfeel and creamy head.Sales of rival nitros, such as Anspach & Hobday’s London Black and Titanic Brewery’s True Stout have soared to overtake the lager and ale brands.Guinness’s Irish compatriot, Murphy’s, this weekend reported a more than 1,000% year-on-year increase in sales volume in pubs, thanks to the UK’s unassuageable thirst for nitro stout.But only Guinness can boast a collection of luxury fashionwear that includes a £200 T-shirt echoing the brand’s vintage bottle tops.
Stephen O’Kelly, the global brand director for Guinness, said: “This collaboration with JW Anderson is truly special, and we believe it will deeply resonate with our global community.”
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