Goldie wears the clothes, Linford Christie wears the boxer shorts, and Samuel L Jackson wears the hats.Not bad. Not bad at all, for a small beret factory from the depths of the Lake District.. It’s starting all over again: the endless calls from newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, all with the same questions. “What was she like?” “What was her favourite outfit?” David Sassoon, the owner of the British couture house Bellville Sassoon, and the man responsible for dressing Diana, Princess of Wales during the early years of her marriage to Prince Charles, is calmly prepared for the media onslaught as the anniversary of her death looms. The two sides of the business have somehow managed to exist on parallel universes under the same label.Within 60 years, Kangol has grown into a multi-million-pound brand almost by accident.
It is easy to wear, uncomplicated, unpretentious and – best of all – inexpensive Dr Marten’s Airwair is the shoe equivalent. Golfers, pensioners, rock stars, rap artists, movie stars, fashion models and other celebs around town are all equally familiar with the Kangol kangaroo, which in fact did not become part of the logo until 1983. It has joined the Lacoste crocodile and the Ralph Lauren polo player as an instantly recognisable logo. After the rap superstar LL Cool J took to wearing his terry-towelling golfing-hat complete with kangaroo, the brand’s place in street cred heaven was assured for ever.At the same time, the company began to build a name for itself in wedding- hats. The society milliner Graham Smith was appointed design director in 1981, and began to make hats that the average teenager or music celeb would not wear for all the tea in China. The brand now has world- wide sales of more than pounds 60m and rising, with licences for sportswear, underwear, bags, belts and watches, all built on the reputation of the headwear.Uniquely, the name has universal appeal. The Kangol cap is to the hat world what a pair of jeans is to the trouser world.
His berets are known around the world, but some of his other ideas did not – thankfully – survive beyond Cumbria. There was the Kangol hairdryer that doubled as a heater, and the plastic coffin. The quick- release Kangol knitted terylene car seat belt, introduced in 1961, achieved some success, and Kangol Magnet became the leading name in seat belts at the end of the Sixties.Caps, however, were what made Kangol’s fortune. The hat business began to look after itself, giving Spreiregen, ever the entrepreneur, time to focus on other inventions. In the Fifties, Kangol expanded its repertoire by adapting the traditional beret shape. By adding a peak, the company invented a new style of cap and put it into production; it included the 504 (named after its wooden hat block, and still made today) and the “Tropic” cap for summer wear.
As the beret’s popularity increased, Spreiregen saw a gap in the market and set up his own factory manufacturing his own. The name Kangol is thought to have been a combination of the words “angora” and “wool”, with a “K” to give it a bit of a ring.During the Second World War, Kangol won a contract to produce standard- issue caps for the military; the company still supplies berets for the British forces and the United Nations. She added that Uefa are considering changing the format of the Champions’ League but denied the number of participants will change. She declined to comment on whether the two knock-out competitions will be merged.. Some brands try so hard to become the next big thing that by the time the product hits the shops it has been strangled by its own hype and hysteria. Other brands quietly get on with their business, and the cult following just, well, happens on its own They don’t even quite know why it happens
Kangol is one such brand.