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An interesting story about Hollister clothing's origins

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11,167
Location
SoCal
Growing up near Laguna Beach, I knew it was bogus.
I figured the name came from the street just South of the Shutters Hotel in Santa Monica where New Yorkers often stay when in LA.
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
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6,870
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East Java
I don't understand why people want to buy tees, fleece jackets with HUGE brand logo plastered on it, the same way I hate motorcycle jacket/ helmet companies for doing the same.
 

Stand By

One Too Many
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1,741
Location
Canada
I just think it's a really interesting article on the power of marketing to the (younger) masses and how truth and integrity are sacrificed for appearance and perception (and profit!).
Such are the days in which we live … alas.
 
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Worf

I'll Lock Up
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5,207
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Troy, New York, USA
I just think it's a really interesting article on the power of marketing to the (younger) masses and how truth and integrity are sacrificed for appearance and perception (and profit!).
Such are the days in which we live … alas.

"Truth and integrity", in business? What in god's good name are you smokin' man? Lying through your teeth to sell a product started the day after man invented money. So the idea that this is something new or more egregious than anything an ancient snake oil salesman may have devised doesn't hit me. The packaging maybe shiny and new but the scam is almost as old as man.

Worf
 

Stand By

One Too Many
Messages
1,741
Location
Canada
I'd agree, Worf - but really, in this day and age of the internet and unrivalled research ability, how did they think they'd get away with a fraudulent marketing lie in saying a company had been around since 1922 and branding all their gear with 1922 - when it was actually 2000?
I suppose the only really surprising thing is why it took 15 years to discover this fraud?
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Working in corporate America now, and for the last 20 years (was in academia before that) I can state that not only is this not new, it's even worse in larger, more well-established companies. When I have to take my quarterly "ethics" courses I nearly puke as I know that the only ethical folks I know are at my level and below. I am now being informed of such breeches by some colleagues being laid off currently who are getting hosed on severance, etc. There is no loyalty or honesty with people you give years of your life to. ***k them all. I can't wait to be done with it all. It makes me ill.

[/anger]
 

Seb Lucas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,562
Location
Australia
I'd agree, Worf - but really, in this day and age of the internet and unrivalled research ability, how did they think they'd get away with a fraudulent marketing lie in saying a company had been around since 1922 and branding all their gear with 1922 - when it was actually 2000?
I suppose the only really surprising thing is why it took 15 years to discover this fraud?

It's p-weak but it's only a phoney back story. At least they aren't poisoning babies or destroying the environment. The history of business includes a vast range of crimes against humanity. :D
 
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tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,954
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miami, fl
On the campus where I teach I must see 15 or 20 Holister shirts a day. I'd never ask the students about them, as I'm sure they wouldn't know. They don't question anything. Anyone remember when you couldn't wear a shirt or jacket (except maybe a pro baseball team jacket) with a name on it if you didn't belong to that organization?
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
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6,870
Location
East Java
lately people here wearing american baseball caps they don't even care to watch (still with hologram sticker on it), in my schooldays every boy, their mother and their dog wore something jordan or #23 related even when they didn't care about sport at all, or richer kids who pumped and deflated the tongue of their basketball sneakers over and over just to show off
 
Messages
16,848
lately people here wearing american baseball caps they don't even care to watch (still with hologram sticker on it), in my schooldays every boy, their mother and their dog wore something jordan or #23 related even when they didn't care about sport at all, or richer kids who pumped and deflated the tongue of their basketball sneakers over and over just to show off

lol exact same story here. Everyone had to have those sneakers with pump action tongue and everyone was convinced this made you jump higher. That made me extremely jealous because my Converse couldn't do none of that, and being a bit of an ***hole back in junior high, one day I pierced the transparent sole bubbles on some kids sneakers.

And people are the worst, yeah. As a freelance artist, luckily, I don't get to see much of the corporate nothing anymore. And the best part is that soon I'll die from being poor.
 

AdeeC

Practically Family
Messages
646
Location
Australia
When I was at school in the early 1970's there was an anti brand thing mostly with jean labels happening. One had to remove the leather label patches from ones jeans to avoid humilation and or a beating. If you came to school with new jeans wth the patch still attached, you would be stalked and jumped on by about a half a dozen toughs who would rip it off your jeans and if you resisted you got extra treatment. The only acceptable branding was the small tabs on rear jean pockets and on western Miller or Wrangler type shirt pockets. Most of the fashionable must wear clothing then was unbranded anyway.
 

AdeeC

Practically Family
Messages
646
Location
Australia
Back to the subject. Despite the cockn'bull story, I would not be surprised if the Hollister name was really chosen because of the 1947 Hollister riot. The rebellious sub culture connection.
 
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Justhandguns

Practically Family
Messages
780
Location
London
FYI, here are some interesting information of some 'fashion' companies.

Abstracted and credited from http://www.refinery29.com/

J.Crew could almost be the name of the preppiest dude on the rowing team — but, alas, it's completely made up. The brand began in 1947 as Popular Merchandise, Inc., which sold women's clothing door-to-door. Later, it sold the country-club-chic look popularized by Ralph Lauren, changing its name to J.Crew in 1989.

A customer service rep told Jezebel about the name's origin: "The man who started the company liked to row, so he chose 'crew' and a letter that looked good in front of it." Inspired by the favorite initial of popular preppy retailers J. Peterman and J. Press, if we had to hazard a guess.

Turns out, there is no real-life Zara. But, the brand name's back story is still one of the most colorful ones we've come across. Founder Amancio Ortega originally named his women's clothing store Zorba — after the classic Anthony Quinn film Zorba the Greek. By some strange coincidence, there was a bar named Zorba on the same block. So, Ortega took the loss and renamed his brand Zara, purposefully similar to his original name, so he could economize on new signage. Would runway-inspired basics be any less sweet with Zorba on the tag?

Leon Leonwood Bean (a name that's almost too good to be true) was born in Maine in the 1870s, and invented the famed half-leather, half-rubber Bean boots to keep his feet warm and dry on hunting trips. "You cannot expect success hunting deer or moose if your feet are not properly dressed," Bean's first ad trumpeted. We can't vouch for moose success, exactly, but the boots are great when you're trudging your way to the bus stop.
 

rocketeer

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,605
Location
England
Maybe I am the only one who thinks this, but when I see someone wearing 'Hollister' I immediately think about a biker gang story and film.
Me, when I first came across Superdry, I thought it was rain wear for outdoor sports. Also, I have a mate who thought Von Dutch was a Japanese clothing designer.
J
 

Justhandguns

Practically Family
Messages
780
Location
London
Maybe I am the only one who thinks this, but when I see someone wearing 'Hollister' I immediately think about a biker gang story and film.
Me, when I first came across Superdry, I thought it was rain wear for outdoor sports. Also, I have a mate who thought Von Dutch was a Japanese clothing designer.
J

I remember I thought that when Hollister opened up their shop in Regent St. London, I thought it is some kind of high class beauty/massage/spa saloon.....

Superdry, on the other hand, was only made famous because of Prince Harry. My Japanese colleagues always laugh at people whenever they see some meaningless words printed on the Superdry clothings. Anyway, the word 極度乾燥 itself, in Japanese or Chinese, is just grammatically wrong.
 

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