Barbour 125th Anniversary Celebration in New York City

Oct 18, 2019

Barbour 125th Anniversary Celebration in New York City

Barbour 125th Anniversary Celebration in New York City
autumn winter 2019

To celebrate Barbour’s 125th anniversary and five generations of the Barbour family, we were in New York City this week with Vice Chairman Helen Barbour, Managing Director of North America, Paul Wilkinson, senior members of the Barbour team, key press, and friends of the brand.

The celebration took place in on a crisp autumn day at Chelsea’s rooftop garden and bar Gallow Green. The venue’s rooftop garden provided the perfect country setting within the bustling city.

Guests were treated to drinks and appetizers as they viewed a display of styles from the Barbour Icons Re-engineered collection. Jackets from the Barbour archive that inspired the anniversary collection were also on display for the evening.

Barbour 125th Anniversary Celebration in New York City

Pieces from the Barbour archive that inspired the Barbour Icons Re-Engineered collection were on display along with the current collection.

Managing Director of North America Paul Wilkinson kicked off the celebration by welcoming guests and saying a few words about the history and heritage of the Barbour brand.

Paul then introduced Vice Chairman and fifth generation of the Barbour family Helen Barbour who thanked everyone for attending the celebration. Helen gave a heartfelt speech describing how each generation of her family discovered their passion in life and brought something special to the Barbour brand.

general Manager of North America Tom Hooven, Helen Barbour, Managing Director, North America Paul Wilkinson, President of Sales, North America Andy Hill, Alistair Sundin, and guests all enjoyed taking photos in the Barbour photo booth.

pieces from the Barbour icons-reengineered collection

Helen spoke about John Barbour who began the Barbour business in 1894 and about her great grandfather, Malcolm Barbour, who was passionate about journalism and helped to create the first Barbour catalogs. Helen went on to talk about her grandfather, Duncan Barbour, who was a keen motorcyclist and shaped the Barbour International brand. Helen finally to spoke about her parents, John and Dame Margaret Barbour who brought the business forward. Each generation contributed to making the brand into all that it is today— 125 years later.

Helen then introduced Antony Crook from Ridley Scott Associates who directed the Barbour brand film. Antony, who now lives in New York, is originally from the United Kingdom and grew up in his Barbour jacket. He described how excited he was to create the brand film, especially due to his deep personal connection to the Barbour brand.

Guests then watched a screening of the brand film that helped them to further understand the brand's history and heritage. Between Helen's heartfelt speech and the brand film, guests found the evening extremely powerful and moving. The evening served as a brilliant celebration of the five generations of the Barbour family and 125 years of Barbour.

Click here to learn more about Barbour’s 125th anniversary and the five generations of the family.