Jack Carlson is a designer, author, archaeologist, and former member of the U.S. rowing team. He founded the brand Rowing Blazers, which he sold to Tory Burch co-owner Burch Creative Capital in 2024. Jack has also led the revival of several heritage brands, including Warm & Wonderful, a British knitwear label beloved by Diana, Princess of Wales.
Jack is known for his wide-ranging collaborations. He has designed collections for Gucci, Target, FILA, Barbour, Umbro, J. Crew, Lands’ End, Beams Plus, La Veste, Noah, Eric Emanuel, The New York Yankees, Tag Heuer, Seiko, Tudor, Zodiac, SEGA, Paddington Bear, Babar the Elephant, ’47, New Era, K-Swiss, Puma, LeSportsac, Globe-Trotter, La Martina, Hunter, Harry’s Bar, Mt. Joy, Café de Flore, The Grateful Dead, and the NBA.
Jack has received industry praise for his design work across apparel, watches, footwear, luggage, and accessories, and he and his work have been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, Monocle, Rolling Stone, Hypebeast, Foreign Policy, The New England Classical Journal, Antiquity, and The Financial Times. His approach combines obsessive historical research with an inclusive, slightly subversive take on “the classics.”
Jack has designed pieces that have been worn by Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Byrne, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Keith Richards, Dwyane Wade, Mindy Kaling, Chloë Sevigny, Tom Hardy, BTS, Russell Westbrook, Tan France, Leo Woodall, Cynthia Erivo, Josh O’Connor, Ashley Graham, B.J. Novak, Randall Park, Carmelo Anthony, Lukas Gage, Millie Bobby Brown, Maude Apatow, Seth Curry, Bowen Yang, Will Ferrell, Jordan Clarkson, Wayne Diamond, Christian Pulisic, Ziwe Fumudoh, Henry Eikenberry, Romeo Beckham, Tracy Morgan, Joey King, Cam Norrie, Bara Strycova, Devin Booker, Vampire Weekend, Glass Animals, Noah Kahan, Adam Scott, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Charles Melton, Chris Eubanks, Sebastian Croft, Russell Tovey, Donovan Mitchell, Whitney Peak, Tom Daley, Madelaine Petsch, Toro y Moi, Ronny Chieng, Dax Shepard, Daya, Hart Denton, Vic Mensa, Andrew Garfield, Jules LeBlanc, Asa Butterfield, Mario Carbone, Thundercat, A$AP Nast, Suki Waterhouse, Macklemore, Pete Davidson, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Emily Ratajkowski, and the NASA Apollo Program astronauts.
Jack has also designed uniforms and apparel for a wide variety of organizations, including British soccer team A.F.C. Wimbledon, Harvard University, the U.S. rugby team, and the New Zealand and El Salvador Olympic teams. His pieces have appeared in films and television shows, including Saturday Night Live, Gossip Girl, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
A three-time member of the U.S. national rowing team, Jack won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships and won both Henley Royal Regatta and the Head of the Charles in 2013. In 2023, Jack trekked to the South Pole with his seventy-two year old dad.
Jack has a doctorate in archaeology from Oxford and an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. He worked as a field archaeologist in Italy and has written on a variety of topics, from iron age weapons to the Arch of Constantine. His interests include the visual and sartorial trappings of status and power; the art and archaeology of the ancient world, especially the Roman Empire and early imperial China; heraldry (the study of coats of arms); vexillology (the study of flags); and the modern history of menswear, from tailoring to sportswear and streetwear. His book Rowing Blazers was published in 2014 by Vendome Press and Thames & Hudson in a global partnership with Ralph Lauren. A revised and expanded edition was published in 2024.
Jack is a Fellow of The Explorers Club, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Royal Numismatic Society; and a Life Member of the Archaeological Institute of America, Oxford University Boat Club, and the I.B.F. at Harry’s Bar in Paris. Jack also serves on the board of Row New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young people through the sport of rowing regardless of background or ability.