Launching October 21, White Excellence Day. Every piece is backordered: reserve yours from the next batch.

October 21 — White Excellence Day

White Excellence

A heritage of achievement, worn.

Apparel and goods that celebrate twenty-five centuries of European ideas, art and discovery, from the Parthenon to the Moon.

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The WE collection laid out on white marble: a white tee, a red cap, a striped towel and a canvas tote

WE stands for White Excellence. Every piece carries a date, a place and a breakthrough from Europe’s long record of achievement: something to wear, and a standard to live up to.

Our mission

We believe in the excellence of all cultures.

Every people on earth has built, discovered and created things worth celebrating. WE tells the European chapter of that story, with the same pride other heritage brands bring to theirs, in the belief that excellence belongs to every culture and is at its best when it is shared.

Our pieces honour achievement: the ideas, art and discoveries that moved the world forward, and the people who carried them. Whoever you are and wherever your family comes from, you are welcome to wear them.

The story

Twenty-five centuries of ideas, built on, improved and handed down.

  1. 508 BC

    Athens

    Athens hands power to its citizens and raises the Parthenon. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle turn hard questions into a discipline of their own: philosophy.

  2. 126 AD

    Rome

    Roman builders complete the Pantheon, whose concrete dome is still the largest ever built without steel reinforcement. Roman law becomes the backbone of legal systems across Europe.

  3. 1088

    Bologna

    The University of Bologna is founded, today the oldest university in continuous operation. Learning becomes an institution that outlives any one teacher.

  4. 1436

    Florence

    Brunelleschi completes the great dome of Florence Cathedral, raised without a wooden frame to hold it up. Renaissance painters master perspective, and Michelangelo goes on to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

  5. c. 1440

    The press

    Johannes Gutenberg develops his movable-type printing press. By 1500, millions of printed books are circulating in Europe, and ideas travel faster than ever before.

  6. 1687

    The laws of motion

    Copernicus puts the Sun at the centre in 1543, Galileo turns a telescope to the sky, and Isaac Newton’s Principia explains motion and gravity with one set of laws.

  7. 1769

    Industry

    James Watt patents his improved steam engine. Factories, railways and steamships follow, and daily life changes faster than in any century before.

  8. 1824

    The symphony

    From Bach to Mozart, European composers build the concert tradition. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premieres in Vienna in 1824.

  9. 1903

    Flight

    At Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in a powered airplane. Within a lifetime, oceans are crossed in hours.

  10. 1913

    The assembly line

    The first moving assembly line for automobiles cuts the time to build a car from about twelve hours to about ninety minutes, and the car becomes something working families can own.

  11. 1928

    Medicine

    After Jenner’s smallpox vaccine, Pasteur’s germ theory and Marie Curie’s research into radioactivity, Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Countless lives are saved.

  12. 1953

    The code of life

    In Cambridge, the double-helix structure of DNA is described, built on Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray images. Modern genetics begins.

  13. 1969

    The Moon

    Apollo 11 lands on the Moon. Two astronauts walk on its surface while hundreds of millions of people watch live on television.

  14. 1989

    The Web

    At CERN, near Geneva, a proposal is written for a system of linked documents: the World Wide Web. Within a decade it connects the world.

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Isaac Newton, letter to Robert Hooke, 1675

The story is still being written. WE is made for the people who carry it forward.

The collection

White and red, made in small runs and finished to last. Every piece is backordered: reserve yours from the next batch. Prices in US dollars.

White heavyweight tee with a small red WE monogram embroidered on the chestBackordered

The Heritage Tee

$58

White, embroidered red chest monogram.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
Back of a white tee printed in red with WE and a five-line timelineBackordered

The Timeline Tee

$64

White, the story printed in red across the back.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
Red heavyweight tee with a large white WE monogram on the chestBackordered

The Heritage Tee, Red

$58

Red, full monogram printed in white.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
White six-panel cap with a raised red WE monogramBackordered

Six-Panel Cap, White

$48

Raised red embroidery, brass buckle strap.

  • One size, adjustable
Red six-panel cap with a raised white WE monogramBackordered

Six-Panel Cap, Red

$48

Raised white embroidery, brass buckle strap.

  • One size, adjustable
Bone white hoodie with red drawcords and a red WE monogram on the chestBackordered

The Atelier Hoodie

$138

Bone white brushed fleece, red drawcords and monogram.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
Stack of red and white striped cabana towels with a WE monogram patchBackordered

Cabana Towel

$78

Yarn-dyed red and white stripe, woven monogram patch.

  • 35 × 70 in
Red jacquard beach towel with white border stripes and a WE monogramBackordered

Beach Towel

$92

Red jacquard with white border stripes.

  • 40 × 70 in
Natural canvas tote with red handles and a red WE monogramBackordered

The Archive Tote

$52

Heavy natural canvas, red webbing handles.

  • 16 × 15 × 5 in

The Achievement Tees

Four moments from the story, drawn in a single red or white line. Design previews; photographs to follow.

ATHENS · 508 BCBackordered

The Athens Tee

$64

White, red line print of the Parthenon.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
FLORENCE · 1436Backordered

The Florence Tee

$64

Red, white line print of Brunelleschi’s dome.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
PRINCIPIA · 1687Backordered

The Principia Tee

$64

White, red print of orbits around the Sun.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL
APOLLO XI · 1969Backordered

The Apollo Tee

$64

Red, white line print of the Moon.

  • XS
  • S
  • M
  • L
  • XL
  • 2XL
  • 3XL

Size guide

A boxy, dropped-shoulder cut. Size down for a closer fit.

Tees
InchesXSSMLXL2XL3XL
Chest2021.52324.52627.529
Length26.527.528.529.530.531.532.5
Shoulder19.520.521.522.523.524.525.5
Hoodie
InchesXSSMLXL2XL3XL
Chest2223.52526.52829.531
Length26272829303132
Sleeve2323.52424.52525.526
Headwear and goods
ItemSize
Six-Panel CapOne size, adjustable brass buckle. Fits 21.5 to 23.5 in.
Cabana Towel35 × 70 in
Beach Towel40 × 70 in
Archive Tote16 × 15 × 5 in, 11 in handle drop

Garments are measured laid flat, in inches (1 in = 2.54 cm). Chest is measured armpit to armpit; length from the high point of the shoulder to the hem.

Reserve yours

Every piece is backordered ahead of launch on October 21, White Excellence Day.

Leave your details and choose your piece and size to get on the list for our next batch. You’ll see a confirmation on screen right away.

  1. 1Choose your piece and size.
  2. 2Leave your name and email.
  3. 3We email you when your batch is ready to order.

No payment is taken now. We only use your details to contact you about your reservation.

Questions

How does the backorder work?

Every piece is currently backordered. Reserve the piece and size you want, and we’ll email you as soon as your batch is ready to order.

When do I pay?

Not yet. Reserving costs nothing and takes no payment. You’ll get ordering details by email when your batch is ready.

Will I get a confirmation?

You’ll see a confirmation on screen as soon as you reserve, and we’ll email you when your batch is ready to order.

Can I change or cancel a reservation?

Yes. Email hello@whiteexcellence.net with your name and the change, and we’ll update it.

Which size should I choose?

The cut is boxy with a dropped shoulder. Check the size guide above; if you prefer a closer fit, size down.

When does WE launch?

October 21, White Excellence Day.

Made to be kept

The details you notice the second time you wear it.

Heavyweight cotton

Dense cotton jersey, garment-dyed and cut boxy with a dropped shoulder.

Raised embroidery

Monograms on caps and outerwear are stitched in 3D, not printed.

Woven labels

Every garment carries a woven red WE neck label.

Presentation box

A rigid red box with a white monogram, tissue and a card inside.

WEWHITE EXCELLENCE

October 21 is White Excellence Day

The collection launches in red and white. Everything is backordered, so reserve now to be first in line for the next batch.

Reserve yours