The Revival of Cross Colours: A Historic 90s Brand Making a Comeback
If you’ve been watching the Wu-Tang series on Hulu you’ve probably seen a bunch of clothing brands, including Tommy Hilfiger and Polo. But there’s one clothing that you might have missed.
The logo was red, black, and green as were the clothes. And the lockup featured two C’s across the badge. It wasn’t Chanel — it was black-owned.
It was Cross Colours.
Look below at a still shot from one of the Wu-Tang episodes & the logo.
Cross Colours was a popular 90s brand before it went defunct. But with the resurgence in 90s nostalgia at an all-time high, it’s making a comeback.
With that said, let’s talk about how this brand came to be and how Hip-hop became the fuel that led to its acclaim.
IT STARTED IN 1989…
Carl Jones had established a brand in California named Surf Fetish that had been doing pretty well commercially. So well, in fact, that he was looking for a lead illustrator and put an ad in the classified section of the newspaper to find one.
At the same time, TJ Walker had just finished art school and was looking for more fulfilling work than he could find in his hometown of Mississippi. Knowing there was more for him out there, he moved from Mississippi to California with no cash and only a car to sleep in.
Once he made it, TJ answered the ad in the Classifieds to do design work for Carl’s brand Surf Fetish, and after working together for a while, the two hit it off.
You know what happens next.
“We wanted something for the culture and for people that were into Hip Hop. Cross Culture- that’s how the naming of the brand started. TJ did all the artwork, the logos, we started to register the name.” - Carl Jones
Carl would eventually use the Surf Fetish profits to establish a brand he and TJ described as ethnically oriented and geared towards African Americans. They did so at a time when there weren’t many apparel brands that were black-owned and overtly saying it in their advertising.
The two would visit various trade shows to show off the clothing and introduce it to the market and were often the only African American brand there that showed streetwear clothing.
It was a huge gamble culturally and financially.
But, it paid off handsomely.
The make or break moment for Cross Colours proved to be The Magic Show — a trade show that could help get their brand into stores across the nation. By the time they got there, Carl had spent over $300,000. It was officially now or never.
By the end of the trade show, Cross Colours amassed over $20 million in orders from various vendors. From there, the duo’s biggest issue was finding the funding to cover their trade show orders. But after solving that, they were off to the races.
As Cross Colours spread across the nation, the brand became widely known for the slogan, "Clothing Without Prejudice" — the core message that the clothing line hoped to convey.
The idea was that this brand was for everybody and transcended color or culture, hence why TJ & Carl purposely used the British spelling of “color” in their logo lockup.
BY THE EARLY 90s…
Cross Colours began to pick up steam, in no small part because its founders made the pricing affordable.
Shirts with messages like “Stop The Violence” & “Educate 2 Elevate” became popular amongst the youth and pretty soon Cross Colours became popular enough that it was being worn by celebs including Jamie Foxx, TLC, and Tupac.
Moreover, they recognized that there were no Black-owned apparel lines making denim clothing (Fubu hadn’t hit the scene yet), and as a result, they were able to create a presence in the market.
THEN, THEY GOT A LIFE-ALTERING CO-SIGN…
Carl & TJ eventually received word that Will Smith was a fan of their clothing line.
And remember, this was the 90s — The Fresh Prince was in full effect from the music to the show. Will was a star, and a co-sign of his magnitude could take the brand to unforeseen heights.
And as any budding fashion brand would, Cross Colours sent him a bunch of free gear to wear.
And you know what happened from there…
Will started wearing Cross Colours on episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and with him being the height of “cool” in the 90s, people began to clamor for Cross Colours. It was officially a hit, and selling out everywhere.
Then The Tables Turned…
Unfortunately, after series of business related mishaps (being late for an art show, overdue balances to manufacturers, etc.) Carl & TJ ran into financial troubles in the mid-90s.
The biggest blow proved to be a bankruptcy from Cross Colours biggest retail partner Merry-Go-Round. Their bankruptcy meant they would no longer be able to purchase the millions of dollars in product from Cross Colours or give it back.
After a cancellation of that magnitude paired with their other misgivings, The duo ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 1996.
But One Thing About Those Tables… Is That They Turn Again
In 2016, Cross Colours officially made its comeback and can even be seen being worn by celebs.
Remember that Bruno Mars song “Finesse” featuring Cardi B on the remix? Word.
Well, remember when they performed it live at The Grammys? Cardi was wearing that multi-color outfit, and if you look at the bucket hat, you’ll notice it’s from Cross Colours! (seen below).
On the heels of this resurgence, Carl & TJ also announced a new collection in 2020. On top of that, many of their original designs are still available online.
With 90s nostalgia continuing its run amongst Gen Z (and even millennials), the future for Cross Colours is still looking bright.
TJ & Carl periodically release content about the brand on their YouTube channel, and they even host an occasional Cross Colour pop-up shop — their latest one happening at Nordstrom's.
Me personally? I’m probably gonna add some pieces to my wardrobe soon.
If TJ & Carl see this: send something my way! Maybe we’ll duplicate the “Fresh Prince” effect.
Peace.