Boxfresh was a British fashion label founded in 1989 by Roger Wade. The name originated from early hip hop

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

for a pair of

trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

being "fresh out of the box".

History

The first clothes produced were customised prints on vintage stock

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s and were sold on stalls at

Greenwich Market Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Gree ...

and

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead ...

, London.Newman, Cheryl (2014)
Competition: fancy shooting the next Boxfresh campaign?
, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 8 February 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2015 In 1991, Boxfresh clothing started to be sold in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and were licensed to the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1995. In 1992, the first flagship shop was opened on Seven Dials in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. Its shop at Shorts Gardens was spread over three floors.Fairchild, Jill & Gallagher, Gerri (2005) ''Where to Wear 2006: London Shopping Guide'', Where to Wear, , p. 30 Between 1999 and 2004, the company's turnover increased from £2.5million to over £10million, with its products sold by over 300 retailers in the UK.Case study: Boxfresh is a fast-growing clothing company whose invoice financer has helped its exports
, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 June 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2015 As of 2004, 20 percent of the company's output was exported outside the UK. Known as a 'street fashion' brand, its 2004 'Here and Now' collection was themed around "juveniles, rebels, smoking, kissing, hi rise 'sic''flats, hanging out on the street, runaway girls, untamed youth". The company used

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

-style advertising, including 'graffiti stickers' based on those used by London tagger Solo One, which were freely distributed and widely used by taggers.Ferrell, Jeff; Hayward, Keith; Morrison, Wayne; Presdee, Mike (eds.) (2004) ''Cultural Criminology Unleashed'', Routledge-Cavendish, , pp. 187-188 They subsequently did a deal with Solo One to distribute his stickers with their products. In 2001, Boxfresh used a Zapatista guerilla stencil which was sent to distributors to spread the design. The company has also sponsored dance music events. In 2005, Boxfresh was acquired by the

Pentland Group Pentland Group is a British privately owned global company that owns and invests in, primarily, retail and wholesale businesses in the sports, outdoor and sports fashion sectors. The Group is the majority shareholder of JD Sports, which operate ...

.Reudenbach, Elena (2015)
Boxfresh with new showroom in Düsseldorf
, ''Sportswear International'', 25 November 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015 In 2014, to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary, it held a series of events, raves, parties, and exhibitions, and launched the limited edition '25' capsule collection. In early 2015, the company announced that it would cease to produce clothing and would be concentrating on its core footwear products.Geoghegan, Jill (2015)
Boxfresh to drop clothing and focus on footwear
, ''

Drapers Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...

'', 22 April 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015 In December 2015, Boxfresh opened a showroom in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany, which was its most successful territory outside the UK. The company's London shop appeared in several guides to London's best shops. In December 2020, the label was discontinued after a "challenging year", with a statement on its website leaving room for a possible restart at a non-specified point in the future.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.boxfresh.com Clothing brands of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1989 Clothing companies established in 1989 Retail companies established in 1989 Clothing retailers of England Clothing companies of England Clothing companies based in London 1989 establishments in the United Kingdom