San Francisco kids of the 70s and 80s will remember Derby jackets, a local fashion craze that served as a sort of unofficial uniform of the Bay. The company that made them went defunct in the 1990s, but the style has been resurrected by the Haight and Ashbury shop Derby of San Francisco. Their latest jacket release rides the rails of SF nostalgia, a Muni-inspired cable car design collaboration with well-known local artist Jeremy Fish.

 

“This is the first time since the 80's that the cable cars have been off the tracks,” Fish tells Hoodline. “I thought it was a great time to celebrate the conductors and gripmen that drive these majestic mountain goats up and down our lovely hills.”

The brown and orange color scheme stans the old Muni uniforms, but with a gold cable car insignia designed by Fish. “I spent four months last year living in an artist residency program on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, half a block from the Derby store,” he says. “During my research for my residency, I discovered that Haight Street used to have a cable car, and a streetcar back in the day. The Derby store has an actual old cable car in the interior of their store, and that is where the idea was born.

 

The jackets are a limited edition, but have another unique quality, too. “This is the first time Derby has done a collaboration [with an artist]," according to Derby of San Francisco owner Jeannine Suarez. She tells us that only 700 were made, and less than of those remain, so you may want to jump on this cable car fast.

 

 

“The response was really great. It made me happy to see so many other people celebrate this unique piece of Haight Street history,” Fish says. “They look really great on the repurposed Cable Car racks in the store, so stop by and check them out.”

Derby of San Francisco is at 1472 Haight Street, at Ashbury Street, open 12-6 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday. Jacket is also available online