Carhartt and Carhartt WIP (Work in Progress) are legally separate corporate entities, though they share deep historical ties. Traditional American Carhartt remains a private, family-owned company run by the descendants of founder Hamilton Carhartt. Conversely, Carhartt WIP was created by Swiss designer Edwin Faeh under a separate European distribution and licensing agreement (Work in Progress GmbH) that designs its own tailored streetwear collections with formal authorization from the primary American brand family owners.