clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
outerwear
Outerwear is clothing and accessories worn outdoors, or clothing designed to be worn outside other garments, as opposed to underwear. It can be worn for formal or casual occasions, or as warm clothing during winter.
List of outerwear
* Academic ...
."Jordache Enterprises, Inc." International Directory of Company Histories, vol. 23. Saint James Press, 1998, The brand is known for its
designer jeans
Designer clothing is expensive luxury clothing considered to be high quality and haute couture for the general public, made by, or carrying the label of, a well-known fashion designer.
Brands
Designer clothing is not always created by the foun ...
that were popular in the late
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...
and early
1980s
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
. Since the 2000s, Jordache has also diversified into real estate in the United States and other ventures in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The brand name Jordache is a contraction of Joe, Ralph, David, and Avi Naccache (Nakash).
History
Jordache originated in 1969, when
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i brothers Joe, Ralph, and Avi Nakash (Naccache) opened a store in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
that sold premium jeans. Inspired by European fashions, the brothers had developed a groundbreaking collection with a signature fit that was tight and sexy. Business expanded over the years, until the store was looted and set ablaze during the
New York City blackout of 1977
The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...
. In 1978, after they collected $120,000 from their insurance policy, they incorporated their business and started to manufacture. They had long been interested in the European denim market, where jeans were more body-conscious and fashion-forward.
The Nakashes' timing was right. At this moment, consumer taste in jeans was shifting from established brands such as Levi's to designer jeans such as Gloria Vanderbilt and Calvin Klein. However, Jordache jeans were barely distinguishable from other designer jeans on the market. To differentiate their brand, the brothers invested one quarter of their annual sales volume ($300,000 of their own money and $250,000 in loans) into an aggressive 1979
ad campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
. Jordache produced a television commercial starring an apparently
topless
Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness.
Expose ...
woman in tight Jordache jeans riding a horse through surf. The ad was rejected by all three major United States television networks, but independent New York stations aired it, and Jordache increased significantly in popularity. Later, an additional one million dollars was spent on advertising, including full-color advertisements in magazines circulated nationally in the United States. One promotional gimmick that did not work out was the Jordache blimp, a poorly designed airship that crashed on October 8, 1980 at
Lakehurst, New Jersey
Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,Hindenburg'' airship disaster in the same city.
In the
1980s
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
, the company expanded its reach with expansive
licensing
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
that generated up to $300 million per year of wholesale income. In 1989, the company had 100 licensees, manufacturing products as varied as children's socks, women's outerwear, jewelry, dresses, luggage, and umbrellas.
In the 1990s, this strategy appeared to have backfired, and Jordache products slid in popularity. The company's jeans "lost their cachet, appealing mainly to inner-city youth and blue-collar workers, and typically selling at discount stores." When Jordache designer diapers were manufactured by a licensee in 1994, they "seemed to symbolize Jordache's descent in the marketplace to mass-merchandise stores and discount outlets."
Jordache today
Today, Jordache Enterprises is a privately held conglomerate. The company designs and manufactures a wide variety of denim, apparel and accessories. In 2018, Jordache unveiled a premium denim collection in celebration of the brand's 40th anniversary.
The brands owned by Jordache Enterprises include: Jordache, Earl Jeans, KIKIT Jeans, Maurice Sasson,
Fubu
FUBU (, ) is an American hip hop apparel company. FUBU stands for "For Us, By Us" and was created when the founders were brainstorming for a catchy four-letter word following other big brands such as Nike and Coke.Keith Perrin interviewed by Ian ...
Ladies,
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
Gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...
. Jordache is an official licensee of the U.S. Polo Assn. brand. Jordache Enterprises also manufactures private label denim for companies worldwide.
Through the initial proceeds from the Jordache label, the Nakash brothers have expanded into Jordache Enterprises, Inc., with interests in real estate, hospitality, aviation, high-tech cryptography, maritime ventures, and agriculture. Among its more notable holdings beyond its namesake brand are real estate holdings in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, The Setai Miami in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, hotels throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, part of the Strip House restaurant chain, management of the
Port of Eilat
The Port of Eilat ( he, נמל אילת) is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.
History
The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952-56. Today it is mainly used for trad ...
following its privatization,
Arkia
Arkia, legally incorporated as Arkia Israeli Airlines Ltd ( he, ארקיע, ''I will soar'', ar, خطوط أركيا), is an Israeli airline. Its head office is on the grounds of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is Israel's second-largest ...
, Israel's second largest airline, and MG Aviation, an aircraft leasing firm with aircraft under lease to
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norwegian low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the second-largest airline in Scandinavia ...
and eventually Arkia. Jordache Enterprises has two separate boards—one comprising six Nakashes and an outside board with 10 non-family members. Each male member of the second generation is highly specialized and has a nominal responsibility.