Stussy

The story of Stussy

Shawn Stussy grew up near California's Laguna Beach, a famous spot popular with surfers and the counterculture community. He began putting his distinctive signature on his handmade surfboards in the early 1980s. Soon after, he began putting the Stüssy logo on clothing such as Stussy T-shirts, Stussy sweatshirts, Stussy jackets, caps and other simple items of clothing, creating a small local brand.

The Stussy collaboration with Frank Sinatra Jr.

In 1984, Shawn Stussy partnered with his friend Frank Sinatra Jr. (no relation to the legendary singer) and the two began selling Stüssy as a full-fledged brand. During the 1990s, the brand grew significantly with a Flagship Store in New York and business expansions in Europe.

Stussy: How it all started

Stüssy was one of the first brands to make clothing like caps and varsity jackets that weren't explicitly designed for sports teams. Combined with the brand's creative reworkings of logos, such as Chanel's double C, Stüssy laid the foundation for virtually every streetwear brand that followed.

Global influence: more than just 'Stussy t shirt'

Stüssy's rapid global expansion inspired a number of young designers to follow in his footsteps. Hiroshi Fujiwara of Fragment Design has cited Shawn Stussy as the person who inspired him to create his first clothing label, GOODENOUGH. The brand also has connections to James Jebbia of Supreme , who started out as a manager for Stüssy's New York store, and Russell Simmons, who was inspired to start Phat Farm by Stüssy. It is also claimed that several streetwear labels such as X-Large, SSUR, and Freshjive were heavily influenced by the style legacy that Stüssy created in its early years.

The famous Stussy Tribe

One of the most famous elements of Stüssy is the well-known Stüssy Tribe – collectives of like-minded individuals with close ties to the brand. This was first started in London by a group of people that included Michael Kopelman of Gimme 5, Mick Jones of The Clash and 'Barnzley' Armitage. Members of city chapters of the Stüssy Tribe were each given custom clothing such as embroidered jackets with their names on them. The movement spread to several cities including Paris, Tokyo and New York.

Shawn Stussy is leaving the brand

In 1996, Shawn Stussy left the brand to focus on his family, and the brand continued to grow and expand. Today, it remains one of the most prominent Streetwear Brands, found in both high-end and Streetwear stores, clothing stores and department stores around the world. Products such as the Stussy Hoodie, Stussy T Shirt , Stussy pants and Stussy jacket are hugely sought after in 2023. The brand's sub-brand, Stüssy Deluxe, produces premium, higher-priced versions of its products as well as premium collaborations with other brands. Since leaving the brand, he has continued to make surfboards and in recent years started a new brand, S/Double, which operates on a small scale, mainly in Japan.

The logo from, among others, Stussy Hoodie

In the 1990s, Shawn adopted a new visual identity for the brand with advice from Franck Sinatra Jr. To give the brand a dimension beyond surfing, Shawn was inspired by Chanel's logo, which he restructured and personalized. The letters C were replaced by Shawn's initials, i.e. S. This is the birth of the famous interlocking S logo, which you see on almost every Stussy t-shirt today. In addition, Shawn used the typography from Chanel's perfumes to create a strong brand image. This is called "Stüssy No. 4".

The logo is generally unavoidable when shopping for Stussy Hoodies or other products from the brand. It is precisely its aesthetics that many fans love.

If you need more inspiration for streetwear, check out Vogue's article about street style trends among men.