J Brand is an American denim clothing company founded in 2005 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Origins

J Brand was co-founded by Jeff Rudes in 2004. In 2005, J Brand officially launched at the Ron Herman Melrose Denim Bar in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California.

Women's Premium Denim

At its inception, the company only offered women's denim. Their 811 Skinny style was popular. Their most famous skinny is the Houlihan Cargo Pant, named for the ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' character Hot Lips Houlihan and originally perceived as a novelty item. Frank Doroff, vice chairman of

Bloomingdales Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...

department stores said it was their "best selling pant", selling thousands. J Brand sold more than 300,000 pairs.

Collaborations

J Brand has worked with fashion designers such as

Christopher Kane Christopher John Kane (born 26 July 1982) is a Scottish fashion designer based in London. Biography Kane was born as the youngest of five children in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, to an engineer and draughtsman father and housewife mother. K ...

Simone Rocha Simone Rocha (born 1986) is an Irish fashion designer. She is the daughter of fashion designer John Rocha, and trained at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and at Central Saint Martins, London. She launched her graduate collection ...

, Henry Duarte, Erdem, Meadham Kirchhoff, Peter Pilotto,

Richard Nicoll Richard Philip Nicoll (15 September 197721 October 2016) was an English fashion designer, best known for his work on modernist classics with the coined term "night-to-day" versatility. Nicoll was awarded three Association Nationale pour le Dé ...

, and

Proenza Schouler Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Based in New York City, Proenza Schouler is derived from maiden names of the two designers' mothers: Proenza is the maiden ...

. They have worked with creative director Karl Templar and photographer

Craig McDean Craig McDean (born 1964 in England) is a British fashion photographer, originally from Middlewich, now based in New York City. Life McDean originally trained and worked as a car mechanic before studying photography at Mid Cheshire College (OND ...

for their Fall 2012, Spring 2013, and Fall 2013 ad campaigns.

Acquisition by Fast Retailing

In late 2012, Fast Retailing announced they had bought 80% of J Brand for $290 million.

References

{{Fast Retailing Fast Retailing Clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in California Clothing companies established in 2004