James Holder is a British businessman who co-founded the fashion brand

Superdry Superdry plc (stylised as SUPERDRY®︎冒険魂) is a UK branded clothing company, and owner of the Superdry label. Superdry products combine vintage American styling with Japanese-inspired graphics. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

Early life

Born in Studley, Warwickshire, he was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon and went to college in Leamington Spa where he studied graphic design. As a teenager, he enjoyed reading comics. Holder started his career in fashion by selling T-shirts from the back of his mother's car at BMX events. He went on to found the skateboarder label Bench. He was made bankrupt in 1998. While running Bench, Holder met Julian Dunkerton, who made a large order of Holder's products. They later travelled to Japan together before founding Superdry.

Career

In 2003, Holder co-founded Superdry with Julian Dunkerton as a market stall in Cheltenham. In 2004, they opened the brand's first physical store in Covent Garden, London. Holder was responsible for clothing design and brand development at the company. Holder said that he and Dunkerton spotted a "huge gap" in the UK men's market. He has said that the initial inspiration for the brand was Dunkerton's love of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

and his love of Japan and

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), ...

. In 2005, Superdry experienced a period of growth after David Beckham was seen wearing the brand. In 2010, the business was floated. Holder led Superdry's product innovation division until 2016. Holder also led SuperDesignLab, which was responsible for launching spin-off brand Superdry Sport. In 2016, Holder resigned from the company, but continues to hold a stake. In 2018, Holder joined fellow co-founder Julian Dunkerton in criticising Superdry's business strategy, claiming that it was unable to compete with

ASOS.com ASOS plc ( ) is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, and ships to al ...

. In 2019, Holder founded JACK1T and Trench London. Both went into Administration in Spring 2021.

Personal life

He lives with his wife Charlotte, a lawyer, and their son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, James 1971 births Living people British designers British fashion designers British retail company founders People from Stratford-upon-Avon