The history of top urban fashion brands

Carhartt

Hamilton Carhartt was born in 1855 in Macedon Lock, New York. He grew up in Southern Michigan and his entrepreneurial style was reflected in the modifying of his last name by adding an extra "t" to ensure he would stand out from other businessmen. With some helpful advice from his first potential buyer, he realized his products had to be different. After talking with a railroad engineer, he created an overall garment specifically for the railroad worker which had never been made before. Hamilton Carhartt founded his namesake company in 1889 and began making work wear with a single goal in mind: Set a standard of excellence to which all others would aspire.

Volcom

During the March dumps of 1991, Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall set off on a snowboard trip that would forever change their lives. After riding four days of fresh, Richard called work with the excuse that they were snowed in and extended his stay. For more than a week, they awoke every morning with two new feet of snow. It was their first real experience riding powder and the new obsession wouldn't stop. Two weeks later Richard quit his job to take some time off and snowboard. He and Tucker had also talked of starting a clothing company during the Tahoe trip but nothing was really final. Later that spring, the two came up with the idea of starting a riding company based around the three sports they enjoyed. With an initial $5000 from Richard's dad, they started the process. The Urban Clothing brand, Volcom was born.

The company was founded in 1993 by Ken Block and Damon Way, and is based in Vista, California. DC originally stood for "Droors Clothing", but since the sale of Droors Clothing (which is now defunct), DC no longer has ties to Droors and is simply DC Shoes. On March 9, 2004, DC Shoes was acquired by Quiksilver in a $87 Million USD transaction. In fall of 2010, DC Shoes launched their DC LIFE collection, a collection of fashion, music and art-inspired footwear. They held a launch party for the DC LIFE collection at the REVOLVE Clothing boutique in West Hollywood, CA.