A Wren Says

When you hear the name Daymond John, perhaps you think first of NBC’s Shark Tank. But of course, all of the entrepreneurs who sit on that panel have an origin story. This is (part of) his.

Before becoming a wealthy investor of small start-ups, John had his own, FUBU. As a child of the nineties, I remember FUBU. I desperately wanted to be cool, or at the very least fit in, which meant getting some of the brand myself. My one, and only, item I finally got was a bright yellow t-shirt, which would have likely been more a crop top on a full-grown woman with an average length torso. On me however, it was a ticket in to fitting in with the rest of the rising urban/street/Black aesthetic of the time. Though I saw the brand everywhere (school, TV, neighborhood kids), I have to admit that I didn’t really know much about it. I have been wanting to chronicle an American brand for some time, so let’s learn some more about it together.

FUBU was started by four friends from Queens, NY. Along with the most well-known, John, were J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin, and Carl Brown. John served as the president of their venture which started with selling tie top hats as a side hustle in 1989. While still working their regular jobs, the sold the hats all around including at concerts and other events.

With the success of their hats, Martin, who was a student at FIT, helped them make the leap into clothing. They were still green in the design process and mostly resorted to screen printing rather than cutting and sewing original designs.

They were able to take advantage of their neighborhood connections and get major music artists into their clothing. While their awareness was helped by the number of rappers who wore their line publicly and in videos, their big break was in 1993, when LL Cool J wore the brand on a shoot. By wearing a FUBU hat as he freestyled in a Gap ad, he sparked controversy and thus greater awareness and desire for the brand. (You can hear him talk about that moment with Oprah here.)

Despite the mounting success, those early days were difficult for the brand financially. In the early days, Daymond John did whatever it took to support his vision. He maxxed out his credit cards, and his mother took out a second mortgage on her home to offer the $100k needed to support them. Then in 1994, they decided to go to a trade show in Vegas to further increase sales. With no money for a booth, they showed their designs from their hotel room. The event was a success, with $300k worth of orders, but they had to scramble to get the resources and funding to produce all of the requested clothing. The tide would turn as Samsung stood up to support, answering an ad the group placed in the New York Times for funders. Later Macy’s would step up as a retail partner. FUBU became the first Black design team to have their own display window at the retailer’s NY Store.

They continued to expand, they decided to do womenswear, but with a license to Jordache. (Note, as John explained this move, he offered what I considered good advice: Why invest the time and resources in learning a new field, when someone else can easily do it for you?) As they brand grew, they expanded beyond the core consumer being Black males to include, what Cardona writing for Advertising Age referred to as “urban wannabes: the white suburban mall rat.” And yes, this includes those pretty boys of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. FUBU was everywhere. Their strategy was paying off.

They kept a very busy schedule, filled with all day meetings, decisions on styling, dinner with clients or industry folk, only to go to parties to keep abreast of the trends and stay relevant. In reference to their strategy at the time, John referred to it as  “majority rules situation.” They focused on what the consumer wanted, and all of their decision making was a joint effort between the four founders. The four founders took an unconventional approach to marketing and were willing to do things others hadn’t done before. One innovation was in their partnership with Macy’s. They had touchscreen computers in store which allowed customers to email them directly. (Remember, this was the nineties and a very big deal.) But the biggest thing was their use of music as part of their marketing.

They partnered with Universal Records to produce a 17-track music compilation, featuring the stars of the time. With tracks by Joe, India.Arie, Nas, and Nate Dogg, they included the hottest R&B and rap artists of the time, further cemented their reach into the Black community. Increasing their reach in the music industry, they launched FUBU records.  They would release songs in conjunction with their clothing line drops. “Fatty Girl” was released in connection with the womenswear line and the song was used in their ads. CDs were sold in their stores and jeans came with a sample of the tracks released by their artists. (Hear the story of the song here.)

By the 1990s it would be an understatement to say they were doing very well, but this came to an end. In 2003, FUBU discontinued US sales but continued in international markets. Despite the heights FUBU reached, part of its downfall was due to doing exactly what they preached. Keith Perrin claims part of the problem was oversaturation. Trying to build too quickly led to excess inventory, and their desire to provide for their community led them to make donations of product to homeless shelters. These good intentions unfortunately watered down the brand power and decrease public interest.

But, this is not an autopsy of a dead brand. There is more to the story of FUBU. There has been a resurgence. (Check back for Part 2)

Check out some more of my other posts:

• For you
• If everyone else did it
• More on Youber, from Uber
• Uber, did anyone want this?
• A fashion field trip

Sources

Bryant, T. (February 28, 2019). The second coming of FUBU. Nylon, https://www.nylon.com/fubu-century21-keith-perrin-interview

Cardona, M. M. (October 11, 1999). FUBU apparel line crosses over to suburban success. Advertising Age, 70(42) p 24-25.

Chappell, K. (Oct 1999). FUBU the collection. Ebony, 54(108).

Espinoza, J. (2019, July 23). Fubu Continues Its Comeback with focus on women by partnering with Sorella for capsule collection. Complex. https://www.complex.com/style/2019/07/fubu-sorella-collaboration

Feitelberg, R. 3/1/2019, FUBU returns to streetwear scene with relaunch at Century 21. WWD: Women’s Wear Daily. p26-26. 1p.

Hamanaka, K. (July 24, 2019). FUBU collaborated with womenswear brand Sorella. WWD: Women’s Wear Daily, p14-14.

Henry, Z. (September 1, 2017). Taking care of business. And yourself. Inc. pp 98-102

Hilburn, J. (January 17, 2022). Daymond John Is on a mission. Forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jairhilburn/2022/01/17/daymond-john-is-on-amission/?sh=71a44c63535c

Kenon, M. (December 23, 2000).   Fashion firm FUBU starts label backed by Universal. Billboard, 112(52), p4.

 Kenon, M. (July 28, 2001. FUBU promotes ‘The Goodlife.” Billboard, 113(30), p. 28.

Leung, A. (Jan 19, 2018) PUMA x FUBU bring the ‘90s back with Spring/Summer 2018 lookbook. Hypebeast https://hypebeast.com/2018/1/puma-fubu-summer-2018-lookbook

 Moin, D. (October 8, 2021).  Furthering its revival, FUBU inks deal with Concept One.   WWD: Women’s Wear Daily. p12-12. 3/4p.