The ‘90s were a great era for fashion, music, and pop culture. The 90’s gave birth to brands and icons that will be marked in history forever. From the Super Nintendo to Forrest Gump…the 90’s paved the way for many of the things we enjoy today.
Various clothing brands that we wear today were bred in the ’90s. While GUESS was founded in the late ‘80s, it wasn’t until the 90’s when it really took off and established itself as the brand it is today. Famous streetwear brand, Supreme, also found its success in the ’90s. However, not every popular ’90s clothing brand remains relevant today. As a matter of fact, the majority of successful ’90s clothing brands have dwindled off and become nothing more than fashion memories.
The following ’90s clothing brands were among the most popular brands of the decade. They had the popularity and relevancy of what a Nike, Supreme, or Nastay Gal have today. While many of the following brands are still in operation, they are nothing more than mere fashion black holes. The following ’90s clothing brands are no longer relevant in 2016, so please do not be caught wearing them…
Anchor Blue
The go-to spot for many back-to-school high school shoppers used to be Anchor Blue. What H&M is today, Anchor Blue was in the ’90s. You could find an Anchor Blue in damn near every mall packed with youngins looking to dress cool. Unfortunately for Anchor Blue, the rise in shops like PacSun, Zumiez, Old Navy and eventually H&M…lead to its downfall.
FUBU
FUBU was the most popular urban brand of the ’90s hands down. Founded by ‘Shark Tank’ star Daymond John, FUBU was worn by damn near every rapper in the ’90s (especially LL Cool J). “FOR US BY US” was the motto and meaning of the FUBU acronym. Daymond John is actually trying to make FUBU relevant again, but were guessing that will fail like many of the pitches on Shark Tank.
JNCO Jeans
For whatever reason, baggy jeans were really popular in the ’90s and a large part of that movement was due to JNCO Jeans. JNCO Jeans were not just baggy, they were EXTREMELY baggy taking wide leg jeans to the next level. Fast forward 20 years and skinny jeans are all the rage. With skinny jeans and joggers being such a fashion staple, only a clown would be caught wearing JNCO Jeans today.
AirWalk
A popular magazine in the ’90s named AIRWALK one of the 10 best sneakers of all time. If you were to make this claim today, people would think either your joking or mentally unstable. However, AIRWALK’s at one point actually DID dominate the sneaker game. Today….you can find them at Payless ShoeSource.
Tribal Gear
Before Affliction clothing there was Tribal Gear. One of the pioneers of streetwear, Tribal Gear, was among the coolest cult brands of the ’90s. Popular ’90s artist like Limp Bizkit and Korn often wore the brand in photoshoots and music videos. Today, Tribal’s mainstream success is obsolete with only a few die hard fans remaining loyal to the brand.
Fila
Today the top three athletic brands consist of Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. That was not the case in the ’90s. Fila was without a doubt one of the top three athletic clothing brands of the ’90s. Famous for their bucket hats, overalls (yes, overalls were popular in the ’90s) and windbreaker jackets…Fila was Nike’s cheif rival during the ’90s decade. For whatever reason Fila fell off and is now considered a retro brand available at Marshalls.
UNIONBAY
The American Eagle of the ’90s was UNIONBAY. While the company continues to make clothes, it is now simply a distributor of basic pieces to department stores like J. C. Penny and Kohl’s. No longer can you find a UNIONBAY chain store with the exception of the two stores still open in its founding state of Seattle.
There are various other popular ’90s clothing brands that went obsolete such as PNB Nation, Ecko UNLTD, and Phat Farm. The moral of this article is not everyone has a happy ending and that was the case for the aforementioned brands. Nevertheless, life goes on….just make sure not to wear these brands ever again.
Loading ...