Comments on the Article blog are now OFF! If you wish to leave feedback or your opinion of an article individual threads will be created in the Dobizo Community for further discussion. Go to discussion by Clicking Here Now

I was sitting around thinking about what kind of article could I write for today that was out of the norm for Dobizo. The idea came about while looking through some old magazines seeing some of the clothing lines that were short lived or don’t have the impact that they once had . Some came out of nowhere and took the industry by storm (Miskeen Originals). Some been creating clothing and rised in popularity due to a very desired garment (Von Dutch trucker hats) and some just made designs that incorporated some of Americas favorite Saturday morning cartoons (Iceberg History). So I present to you clothing company one hit wonders, which is my compiled list of clothing lines that once dominated a particular category of the fashion industry for a short lived time or either rose in popularity and have/or will soon fade into obscurity! All in good fun guys…plus it’s just my opinion. These are in no particular order.

1. Gino Green Global- You may be familiar with this line from when it made its rapid rise into popularity amongst rap industry elite (I’m pretty sure they paid them!). As you all know the clothing lines logo is a lower case ‘g’ and not a ‘9′. The whole thing is a marketing gimmick that the owners came up with and played upon the consumers confusion to ignite curiosity. Don’t get me wrong you can start a clothing line with a gimmick heading your promotion, but the consumers will soon catch own and notice there is no true substance to your clothing brand.
2. Miskeen Originals-Miskeen Originals started all the hand painted clothing madness. They took creative expression to a new level from the canvas to the garment. Creating one of a kind pieces that took them straight to the top and they rode success for two years or so until differences between the majority owner of the clothing line turned against them. In the end they loss the company to their financier. They now run a new clothing line by the name of Meezan ArtCouture.
3. Von Dutch-I’m pretty sure you are all familiar with the trucker hats that brought Von Dutch into the limelight. Designed by owner of Ed Hardy-Christian Audigier at that time (He left the company). Their trucker mesh hats dominated the fashion scene for a good two or three years after being worn by celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Nick Cannon back in 2003-2005.
4. Arme Clothing- Derrick Murray founder of urban clothing company Arme, which made its rise to popularity after being worn on the front of album covers by rap superstar 50 cent and also by most of the hip hop urban crowd. The clothing lines signature “Welcome to the Hood” was plastered across the chest of thousands of urban youth all around the country. Not sure what happen to the company, may have just folded from lack of financing or just lost its overall appeal after producing repetitive graphics.
5. Drunknmunky-This clothing line is probably most memorable from the sleek monkey graphic on the front chest of most of its street wear tops or from Jay-z introducing it to urban America through his “Excuse Me Miss” video. Even though owner Peter Kim founded the company years before going outside of his families own business. He later sold to Fubu founder Daymond John for a undisclosed amount (Hey least he made some money from it!) I’m assuming their completely out of business due to their website that hasn’t been updated and no news has been released as of the last three years.
6. Iceberg History-Remember all your favorite Saturday morning cartoons? Well they made their way onto some of your favorite items everything from t-shirts, to sweaters, and beanies. Iceberg History jumped onto the fashion scene and made an name for itself almost instantaneously in the closets of urban youth in America….well if you could afford it. I know I couldn’t at the time some of the sweaters were going for $400-up and t-shirts $100-up. Mostly worn by industry elite and celebrities. They disappeared and haven’t heard much from them since.
7. Boss Clothing-How many remember this clothing line? The t-shirts with the big BOSS across the chest or down the side of your pants leg. Not very stylish, but many people wore it and loved it. Not much information on this clothing line, but a few garments I actually found in my basement from the line…..lol
8. Mecca Usa-All was not loss for this clothing company, until now. They had a good long-lasting clothing company that seem to not keep up with the trends and didn’t create their own niche. You can only turn wrong so many times and slowly, but surely Mecca USA fell off of the retail radar as far as I’m concerned. I doubt you will find pieces from this line in anybody’s closet.
9. Ed Hardy-If you don’t remember Ed Hardy then you either didn’t watch television all of 2005-2006. Their rhinestone encrusted hats made their way onto the head of every major celebrity in the universe everyone from Britney to P. Diddy had a piece from the Ed Hardy Collection. Where are they now? Last heard they opened up a flagship store in California all is not lost from them, but usually when you peak in your first year, most likely your last year is soon to come.
10. Dada Supreme- Started by two guys and a women (Lavetta Willis) who got lucky at the Magic Apparel Trade Show…right place at the right time. Dada supreme sold everywhere from your local mom & pop store to Foot Action and Champs. Even though their previous success was short lived their back with a whole new line of shoes and apparel. Check out the site for more detail.
11. Fubu Clothing-Even though they continue to do well over seas the niche they once held in the American urban fashion industry is now nowhere to be found. Fubu started off with t-shirts and a dream. I really admire their story as they made huge sacrifices to meet their goals and to become one of the largest urban clothing lines in the fashion industry history. Founded by four partners in Queens, New York “For Us, By Us” Fubu.

I’m pretty sure I missed a couple of clothing companies many of you probably wore or still wear. If you have any you would like to see added to the list let me know and I will edit on the next update.

Are most of these clothing lines ever going to see the success that they once had? Am I dead wrong? What are your opinions?

Serious about starting a clothing line? If so subscribe to our free newsletter for exclusive articles/updates that you don't want to miss! or Our RSS Feed

Continue This Discussion In Dobizo Forum

Fred

Popularity: 2% [?]

Want To Learn How To Start A Clothing Line From a proven fashion industry professional? If so Click Here to take a listen 100% Free to how you can succeed in the fashion industry from Ceo's of million dollar apparel industry businesses.