Talking art, inspiration—and Stetsons—with Texas

artist Jon Flaming.

By Paul Underwood

Photography by Tyler Ellison

Artist Jon Flaming is no stranger to Stetsons. He’s worn them since at least the ‘80s and often dons one for portraits and publications, reminiscing fondly on a collection of hats his granddad wore way back when—whether to church, to the bank, or just in town in general. And then, there’s the work: cowboy hats are a frequent motif in his paintings, sketches, and assorted other pieces.

But the relationship took on a new dimension due to an Instagram post last April: a fine art print depicting the iconic Stetson Open Road, situated amongst the familiar sights along the literal open road of Big Bend, the National Park in West Texas. The image drew the notice of his many fans and collectors, along with those of us at Stetson.

It’s the latest step in an artistic journey that began when Flaming was 5 and noticed a kid in Sunday school drawing an ultra-realistic jet next to him. This was at the height of the Vietnam War, he notes, when “those types of things were top of mind subject matter for little boys, and I was like, ‘Man, that is such a cool jet airplane. I wish I could draw one like that.’” He jokes now that his whole career has been in pursuit of drawing that cooler airplane.

“Open Road (Big Bend)” by Jon Flaming

This happened when he still lived in Wichita, KS where he was born and where his grandparents had a 2,000-acre ranch nearby. His parents were musicians, however, and desperate to leave the Midwest in those days, so they ended up in Irving, TX, just outside Dallas, where he encountered a neighbor’s coffee table book illustrating the history of art, which further inspired him. Bypassing fine arts training for design and advertising, he ran a design studio for 25 years, creating work for clients like Sony, FedEx, and American Airlines.

His artistic aspirations never left him, however. Soon he was creating pieces in his off hours that reflected his newfound home and memories of the ranch (which, by the way, is still in the family) filtered through his signature graphic style. “Like a Texan moseyed into an old Works Progress Administration poster, lit up a cigarette, and stared into the future” is how one observer memorably described it.

It’s a style all his own, one that he developed over the years, drawing from influences such as Matisse and Picasso, graphic designers like Paul Rand and Saul Bass (best known for cinematic title sequences including Psycho and The Man With the Golden Arm), Texas artists like Everett Spruce and William Lester, and Jerry Bywaters. “It’s modern, but it’s also primitive,” he says. “It’s folk art. It’s graphic. It’s this mixed bag of influences.”

The art has drawn the interest of the set designer for, let’s say, a popular television series set in the West, which means Flaming’s creations might soon make a cameo in the show. “At 60, I don’t count my chickens ‘til long after they’re hatched,” he says cautiously. “I’ve just learned that things come, and things go, and things fall apart, and things happen you never thought were going to happen.” 

As with the open road itself, it’s all about the journey.

THE OPEN ROAD

JEWELRY

MEN’S SHIRTS

By Paul Underwood

Photography by Alexandra Folster

The Stetson Stratoliner was made for the man who is going places. Introduced in 1940, it took its name from the Boeing Stratoliner, a milestone in the Golden Age of Aviation. That Stratoliner, designed in 1935, was the first plane with a pressurized cabin, which enabled it to soar up to 20,000 feet—high above troublesome weather systems. This feat of engineering meant the Stratoliner could ferry 33 passengers and six crewmembers further and faster than anyone had flown before. (Among the first to have one? Howard Hughes, whose Stratoliner was dubbed “The Flying Penthouse.”)

Advertisment, 1941

Advertisment in Collier’s, September 1940

Advertisment in Esquire, April 1945

Sensing the implications, the Stetson design team got to work. The result was a lightweight fedora crafted from 2-1/2 ounce fur felt, so it packed easily and could be worn year-round. It sported a lower crown height, the better for fitting into a cramped airplane cabin, or a cab on the way to the airport. Its rakish, angled crown shape suggested a man—or a plane—on the move. The hat band came adorned with a small silver pin in the shape of a Boeing. It even arrived in a metallic silver box, suggesting the famed exterior of its namesake aircraft, with an illustrated label showing both the Stratoliner plane and the Stratoliner name. 

Stetson’s ad campaign for the Stratoliner emphasized the connection between plane and hat. “Take off in style,” one ad urged, while another declared that it “reaches new heights in style, quality and smart colorings”—while “the price is a down-to-earth $6.” Stetson introduced the hat with ads in California and Texas, where some of the first Stratoliner flights touched down. The actor Adolphe Menjou, a noted man of style both on-screen and off, was photographed carrying his Stratoliner hat while boarding a Stratoliner plane, an image soon splashed across Stetson ads far and wide, promising ease, glamour, and sophistication in equal measure. 

After WWII, as the Jet Age dawned, the hat became the go-to for the era’s Rat Packers and Mad Men. Over time, tastes evolved, and the style was retired, only to return in 2009. Then, as now, it was crafted the old-fashioned way: By hand, in Garland, Texas. While the original Boeing Stratoliner is no longer cutting edge—indeed, the only one left now belongs to the Smithsonian—the hat it inspired remains an icon of timeless Stetson style. 

THE STORY OF TOM MIX AND HIS ICONIC STETSON

By Paul Underwood

Long before a guy named Clint Eastwood played The Man Who Had No Name, or John Wayne became The Duke (even John Wayne), there was Tom Mix.

Mix was the biggest Western star of the early 20th Century and “the most radiant of movie cowboys,” one critic wrote in 1983. Today, he is too often overlooked, but this January on his 143rd birthday, we wanted to celebrate his legacy. Mix created the movie cowboy archetype, bridging the eras of Buffalo Bill and John Ford, thanks in part to his tremendous personal style. He often wore an off-white “ten-gallon” felt hat crafted by Stetson, with double-breasted suits and traditional Western attire. That hat is now in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

Much like John B. Stetson prided himself on not just being a businessman and innovator but as someone who treated his workers well and gave back to his community, Mix, too, cared about his image beyond fame and fortune. He insisted his characters demonstrate strong values to his many young admirers—he didn’t smoke, drink, or curse on screen—and formed the Tom Mix Club, a fan group in which kids abided by the motto “straight shooters always win, lawbreakers always lose.” He (or his press agent) might have exaggerated some details of his bio—he claimed to have been born in Texas, to have served alongside Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba, to have been a Texas Ranger and a U.S. Marshall, none of which was true—but he was hardly the first to make it in Hollywood after reinventing himself. Besides, what would the Old West be without a few tall tales?

But rather than focus on what Mix wasn’t, let’s remember what he was. He possessed unbridled charisma. He forged a strong friendship with Wyatt Earp. Uniquely for his time, he performed his own stunts. And not just roping and riding—he was a competitive rodeo star and once jumped a canyon with his trusty horse, Tony. Okay, okay…the true story of the stunt is debated, but Mix was undoubtedly an accomplished rider. There are few leading men these days who could claim the same. He started out in one-reel films, which lasted about 15 minutes, then moved to feature films, whose popularity helped him become the highest-paid movie star of his day, earning roughly $17,000 per picture (and he made more than 300 of them). He kept up his work in traveling rodeos, too, even performing before royalty in Europe.

This skill set carried him after his film career ended (and after he lost most of his money in the 1929 stock market crash) when he focused on circuses and rodeos. Unfortunately, this next chapter proved to be his last. Mix was killed in a car accident in Arizona in 1940. He was 60.

But his legacy continues, and many of his films remain viewable on Turner Classic Movies and elsewhere. His spirit is perhaps best captured in a short video biography, released after his death, cataloging his accomplishments—both true and…some…well, debatable. In it, he’s praised for his values of courage, honesty, and fair play over clips that exemplify his rugged good looks and outsized charm. It ends with him putting his handprints and Tony’s hoofprints in wet cement for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Next to his hands and his signature is a simple sketch of his beloved Stetson.

WESTERN HATS

TOM MIX STETSON MUG

MEN’S SHIRTS

Matt McCormick filters timeless cowboy iconography through a modern lens—in his art and a new collaboration with Stetson.

By Andrew Bradbury
Photography by Germano Assuncao

Matt McCormick is not a cowboy—he makes that clear upfront. But like the song goes, his heroes have always been. “As a kid, my superhero was always the cowboy.” 

Matt grew up in the Bay Area, but there were many trips with his mother to California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley, and plenty of exposure to endless Western movies with his father.

“That cowboy character became a kind of North Star of what it means to be a man,” he says. Now the work he creates evokes conversation about broader national themes, filled with strong, silent types serving as the hero and dreamlike symbols from the sort of roadside Americana that was, if not invented, then certainly perfected by his home state: neon motel signs, muscle cars, a soda machine at an old filling station.

MATT MCCORMICK IN HIS LOS ANGELES STUDIO IN 2022.

His aesthetic and good-old-DIY, California punk-rock ethos that has made his work a crossover success with both hypebeasts (literally—he was on the cover of Hypebeast magazine in 2019) and serious art collectors. It manages to convey a heightened, stylized reality that feels rooted in the past, but fully of the modern world, making McCormick one of the most dynamic artists working in the Western genre—likely because he’s not fully confined to it.

The contrast is apparent in his new collaboration with Stetson, which features a limited-edition boot, as well as a pair of legendary Fender® Telecasters® emblazoned with custom graphics. Though it’s his first official collaboration with the brand, McCormick says, “The Stetson hat has become a symbol of American culture that reverberates throughout my work.”

For the boots, McCormick brought classic Western design details to a more city-friendly Chelsea style. “I always wanted a boot with a western feel that could exist seamlessly in the city, as well as the outdoors,” he says, “a traditional cowboy boot is a little intense.” The guitars—a pair of American-made Telecasters® featuring rough charcoal interpretations of classic Stetson logos and a sketch of a modern cowboy—are another reminder that a little bit of country and a little bit of rock and roll can go a really, really long way.

In that spirit, McCormick cites Dwight Yoakam as one of his heroes, “He got his start playing alongside punk bands in LA but he is also super traditional, and paid homage to the greats like Buck Owens and earned those guys’ respect. But he didn’t just stick to one world.”

Music has always played a role in McCormick’s life, thanks to his father, a musician who still plays in bands. Inspired by the time his father secured a grant to fund an art program when his school was without one, McCormick is committed to using his platform to raise awareness for arts education.

We’re happy to join him in that effort, and as part of this launch, The John B. Stetson Company, in conjunction with The Bulova Stetson Fund, has made a donation of $10,000 to Education Through Music-Los Angeles, which partners with under-resourced schools in McCormick’s backyard to provide music as a core subject for all children, utilizing music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school and self-confidence.

Seventh grader Nathan is an up-and-coming young guitarist from East LA. He learned to play guitar from his dad and loves Metallica. He also loves the bongo.

Ninth grader Brianna is usually strumming on the bass guitar. She’s equally talented on the Telecaster® though—pictured here performing at Matt’s studio in Los Angeles.

“It’s been proven the benefits that it provides,” McCormick says, “and music is a language we can all understand. For kids, having a moment to pause and get away from a screen is very calming and very therapeutic. And I think it keeps the imagination alive. I feel lucky that I get to exist in a career where I get to imagine and have dreams all day.”

THE COWBOY EDITION

(SOLD OUT)

THE CHELSEA BOOT

THE CREST EDITION

By Paul Underwood

Every now and again, form and function intersect to create something somehow both useful and beautiful, purpose-built yet iconic. The Coca-Cola bottle. The denim work shirt. The Porsche 911. To that list we would add: The Stetson Open Road, a style so classic and time-tested that it’s hard to believe there was ever a world where it didn’t exist.

The hat, with its western crown and shorter, town-friendly brim, dates back to 1937, a time when the open road itself was a relatively new concept. Route 66 was just over a decade old, and the top-of-the-line V-8 in the latest-model Ford cranked out a whopping 85 horsepower. Unlike today’s sturdy, hard-wearing Open Road, the 1937 iteration was more of a lightweight, western-inflected fedora.

It wasn’t until 1948 that the Open Road as we know it—with its iconic cattleman crown, narrow grosgrain ribbon, and that perfectly proportioned brim turned up just so at the edge—entered the world. It was an instant success, thanks in part to a marketing campaign that blanketed Texas and other Western states, proclaiming the hat’s versatility as a dressy option at home in town or country, in the West or back East. (“Almost as popular on the Avenue as they are on the Open Road,” as one ad later put it.)

Advertisment in The Saturday Evening Post, 1950

Advertisment, 1952

Advertisment in Time, February 1953

Before long, the Open Road was adorning some of the most famous heads in the land. Presidents in particular seemed to relish the style—Harry S. Truman was an early adopter, as was Dwight Eisenhower, both of whom wore it with a suit. 

Lyndon B. Johnson’s affinity for the Open Road inspired both a Stetson ad campaign (touting “The L.B.J. Look”) and a wave of knockoffs in the mid-’60s. (You can still buy your own—authentic—Open Road at the LBJ Ranch near Johnson City, Texas.) Winston Churchill wore one; so did country music legends like Hank Williams and maverick Hollywood

LYNDON B. JOHNSON IN HIS SIGNATURE OPEN ROAD, 1966

directors like John Huston. The hat made memorable cameos in Smokey and the Bandit, From Dusk Till Dawn, Seabiscuit and The Royal Tenenbaums. Recently, it’s been seen on modern creative visionaries like Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, Jamie Foxx, Leon Bridges and Justin Theroux, who partnered with us to develop a special limited edition Open Road, in conjunction with the crew at Ray’s Hometown Bar in NYC, last fall. 

Justin Theroux and Carlos Quirarte, the actor/writer and NYC scenemaker behind Ray’s NYC celebrate the Open Road 6X “Raygular Edition” release.

For Spring/Summer ‘24, a new campaign “Character Driven” featuring the legendary Lyle Lovett and a coast-to-coast collective of creative spirits proves that while the Open Road is rich with history, its story is still being written by the diverse cast of characters who wear it—and the character that drives them.

Legendary musician Lyle Lovett and emerging artist Emily Ferguson for The Open Road “Character Driven” campaign.

Four decades after the debut of our iconic men’s fragrance, the next generation of Stetson Man is ready to saddle up.

Watch our new campaign film

starring Luke Grimes, and rediscover the Original western fragrance for men.

Shot on location at Diamond Cross Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

STETSON FRAGRANCES

Rediscover Stetson Original—and get to know Stetson Spirit, the next generation of Stetson fragrance, powered by notes of leather, amber, sage, and woods.

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STETSON ORIGINAL BODY SPRAY

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