Stüssy () is an American

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

fashion house Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, but was later adopted by the

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboard ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

scenes.

History

Shawn Stussy (born 1954) was a Californian manufacturer of

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...

s. The

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

defining the brand started in the early 1980s, when he scrawled his

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

on handcrafted boards with a simple broad-tipped marker. He then used the logo on

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) 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-shir ...

s, shorts and caps that he sold out of his car around Laguna Beach, California. The signature was derived from that of his uncle,

Jan Stussy Jan Stussy (1921–1990) was an American artist, film producer, and professor. He was a Emeritus, professor emeritus from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he taught there for 42 years. He was awarded an Academy Awards, Academy Aw ...

. A stylized "S" popular in the 1990s, called the "

Cool S The Cool S, also known as the Universal S, the Stüssy S, the Super S, the Pointy S, and the Graffiti S, is a graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or o ...

", is often mistakenly attributed to the brand. In 1984, Stussy and his friend, Frank Sinatra Jr. (no relation to the singer), partnered to sell the apparel. The company expanded into Europe by 1988, opened a boutique in SoHo, New York, and unveiled multiple other locations throughout the 1990s. Revenues reached $17 million in 1991, and $20 million in 1992. Stüssy was sold throughout the United States at both specialty and department stores alongside other high-priced "California lifestyle" clothing during this era. Outside of the US, the brand was available in specialty shops alongside high-end international design clothing. In 1996, Stussy resigned as president and Sinatra bought his share of the company holdings, with the Sinatra family still owning the brand in 2017. According to the company's website, the apparel is available in branded stores and other retailers in Europe, Asia, the United States, Canada and Australia.

Style

The early success of the brand has been attributed to its popularity in the hip hop and skateboarding/ surfer scenes. The brand was also embraced by the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and other subcultures. In a 1992 interview Stussy said, "Everybody calls it surf wear, or urban streetwear, punk, or surf street... I don't name it, and I don't name it on purpose."

Collaborations

In 2011,

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

paired up with Stüssy for an extensive line split between two series. The first, released on 27 April, had nine T-shirt designs depicting several of the comics' most popular superheroes combined with Stüssy's graphic language. The second was made up of designs from nine guest artists who interpreted their favorite characters from the Marvel Universe. In 2019, Stüssy partnered up with fashion designer Matthew Williams to release two products: a garment dyed tee made of recycled organic cotton and a pair of co-branded leather hiking boots. The next year, Williams announced a new partnership with the brand for

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more Warp (weaving), warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was f ...

products and in late 2020, the brand partnered with

CDG CDG may refer to: Transport * Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA code), Paris, France * Chandigarh Junction railway station, Chandigarh railway station * ComfortDelGro, a Singaporean multinational land transport company * Shandong Airlines (ICAO code ...

to create a capsule collection in commemoration of Stüssy's 40th anniversary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stussy Clothing brands of the United States Surfwear brands 1990s fashion Street fashion Clothing companies based in Los Angeles