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Aquascutum

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British luxury clothing company

Aquascutum
IndustryFashion
FounderJohn Emary
HeadquartersLondon, England
ProductsMenswear
Womenswear
Accessories
ParentShandong Ruyi
Websitewww.aquascutum-active.com

Aquascutum is a luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer. Originally British, it is currently owned by Shandong Ruyi.

History

Beginnings

Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a high quality menswear shop at 46 Regent Street. In 1853, after succeeding in producing the first waterproof wool, he had his discovery patented and renamed the company 'Aquascutum', Latin for 'watershield'. In 1901, Emary moved to 100 Regent Street in the heart of London. The company created other fabrics and coats using similar names, such as the Eiderscutum light overcoat and (in 1962) the multicoloured wool-yarn weave, Aquaspectrum.

Coats for officers in the Crimean War (1853–1856) were made from Aquascutum's waterproof fabric, as were the trench coats worn by soldiers of all ranks in both world wars. Domestic and fashion applications followed, promoted in the 19th century by royal fashion leader King Edward VII; he was Aquascutum's first royal client, ordering an Aquascutum coat in the Prince of Wales check. In 1897, Aquascutum was granted a royal warrant, the first that would mark the British royal family's long patronage of the company. Aquascutum's trenchcoats have been worn by three Princes of Wales, Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. In 1900, Aquascutum opened a womenswear department, offering water-repellent capes and coats, which were very popular among British suffragettes.

Cary Grant wearing Aquascutum
An Aquascutum scarf, showing the Club Check colours

The company has supplied aristocrats, political leaders, and actors, including three Princes of Wales, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Winston Churchill, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. In 1953 its wyncol fabric - designed to withstand 100 mph winds - was used by explorer Edmund Hillary in the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest. During the 1980s and 1990s, Kingsley Matheson Pink, managing director of the Regent Street flagship store, dressed UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, including her visit to the USSR, and comprised coats and tailored suits, dresses and evening wear. He also was subsequently responsible for dressing Prime Minister John Major, as well as a number of other international dignitaries including the King of Malaysia.

Renown International, 1990–2009

Aquascutum was family owned until 1990, when it was purchased by Japanese textile conglomerate company Renown Incorporated for about 20 billion yen ($163.3 million)

In 2005, Renown was the Aquascutum ready-to-wear licence holder in Japan with retail value of €50 million. Also in 2005, Aquascutum presented its first runway at the London Fashion Week.

In April 2006, Aquascutum appointed Kim Winser as president and chief executive officer. By 2007, the company entered into license agreements with Novaseta, the accessories company owned by Ermenegildo Zegna, and Antichi Pellettieri to produce ties and scarves for the Aquascutum men’s and women’s collections.

In 2008, Renown announced that it would sell Aquascutum, after the parent company experienced three straight years of losses. In May 2009, Renown rejected a corporate buyout bid led by Kim Winser. After the bid was rejected, Winser left Aquascutum.

In 2009, Crombie expressed interest in Aquascutum’s U.K. and European businesses. However, Renown only continued acquisition talks with YGM Trading, a Hong Kong fashion retailer, which held licenses to sell Aquascutum clothes in Asia, the brand's biggest market; in 2008, YGM Trading hired Cantopop star Sammi Cheng to market the Aquascutum brand as part of its 160 anniversary campaign.

Broadwick, 2009–2012

In September 2009, Broadwick Group Ltd. – the corporate vehicle of the management team behind the revival of retailer Jaeger, Harold Tillman and Belinda Earl – bought the company's non-Asia businesses for an undisclosed sum. As part of the Aquascutum deal, YGM Trading, which had been tipped as a bidder for the whole business, bought the rights for the brand's business in Asia.

Within the first year after the takeover, Graeme Fidler, head of menswear design, and Michael Herz, head of womenswear design, stepped down in 2010. From 2010 to 2012, Joanna Sykes served as the brand's design director.

However, on 17 April 2012, the Financial Times published an article citing sources "familiar with the company's plans" stating that the company would shortly go into administration with the potential loss of up to 250 jobs. In April 2012, the company indeed went into bankruptcy administration. FRP Advisory was chosen to act as the administrators. Within days, FRP Advisory began to shut down the firm’s factory in Northamptonshire.

YGM Trading, 2012–2017

Shortly after it went into bankruptcy administration, Aquascutum's Asia licensee, YGM Trading, acquired the company for £15 million.

Under YGM's ownership, the company's primary focus was China, with 135 of its 146 outlets located in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. By 2013, the Aquascutum factory in Northamptonshire was again put up for sale, and was purchased by a British owner. The original factory was renamed The Clothing Works. The retailer had to close 14 stores in China, its main market, as well as one in Taiwan.

In 2015, Aquascutum signed a licensing deal with the Canadian firm Jaytex to distribute the main collection, 1851 London, in the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, Te Dinh Sy joined the brand as its new head of men’s wear; he took over responsibility for women’s wear in 2017, too. Under Dinh Sy, Aquascutum launched Supreme x Aquascutum, an eight-piece collection with American clothing and skateboarding lifestyle brand Supreme.

Shandong Ruyi, 2017–present

In December 2016, the BBC reported that Aquascutum was due to be sold for $120 million (£97 million) to two buyers, one of which was Chinese textile firm Shandong Ruyi. The unnamed acquirers made a $5m down payment for exclusive rights to the deal. In March 2017, YGM Trading confirmed it would sell Aquascutum to Jining Ruyi Investment Co, a holding company of Shandong Ruyi, for $117 million (£95 million).

In September 2020, Aquascutum went into administration again. In the same month, Aquascutum granted Trinity Limited exclusive rights to design, manufacture and distribute its products in Greater China and appointed Trinity as its exclusive licensing agent to manage its global licensing business. Trinity is a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a subsidiary of privately held Beijing Ruyi Fashion Investment Holding Company Limited. Trinity manages four international brands, namely Cerruti 1881, Gieves & Hawkes and Kent & Curwen, which it owns, and D’URBAN, which it operates under a long-term license in Greater China.

Icons srl, 2023–present

Since 2023, Icons srl (multidisciplinary studio in the textile industry based in Rome) has been the official licensee of the Aquascutum Active and Aquascutum Beachwear collections in Europe, UK and Russia and sells its products through the official website aquascutum-active.com

The Aquascutum Active line combines brand heritage with a contemporary view of urban and city life, highlighting thermal insulation amongst modern technical fabrics and detail. functionality is key.

Campaigns

Aquascutum campaigns have in the past featured Pierce Brosnan (2006), Julia Stegner (2006), Brett Anderson (2007), Gisele Bündchen (2007–2008), Jamie Dornan (2007–2008), Karlie Kloss (2010), Guinevere Van Seenus (2012), and Damian Lewis (2014).

Royal Warrants

Aquascutum's first royal warrant

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Aquascutum
Crest
Mantled gules doubled Argent a demi lion rampant guardant per fess Or and Gules grasping in the dexter claw a sword bendwise Gules pommeau hilt and quillons Gold bearing on the sinister foreleg a shield of the arms.
Escutcheon
Azure gutty d'eau a crown Or a chief nebuly Argent.
Motto
In Hoc Scuto Fideamus.

References

  1. YGM confirms Aquascutum sale to Shandong Ruyi Group Vivian Hendriksz, 3 March 2017
  2. Shandong Ruyi and Fosun Vie for a Spot in Luxury's Inner Circle The New York Times, Alexandra Stevenson, 19 November 2018
  3. ^ Room, Adrian (1982), Dictionary of Trade Name Origins, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, ISBN 0-7100-0839-2
  4. ^ Felsted, Andrea (23 May 2009), "Aquascutum faces gathering storm", The Financial Times
  5. Kollewe, Julia (8 September 2009). "Aquascutum: History of a trendsetter". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  6. Trench coat maker Aquascutum to be sold for £97m BBC, 22 December 2016.
  7. Trench coat maker Aquascutum to be sold for £97m BBC, 22 December 2016.
  8. Trench coat maker Aquascutum to be sold for £97m BBC, 22 December 2016.
  9. Trench coat maker Aquascutum to be sold for £97m BBC, 22 December 2016.
  10. Sachi Izumi (7 October 2008), Japan's Renown says may sell Britain's Aquascutum Reuters.
  11. Rhys Jones (6 September 2009), Jaeger chairman eyes Aquascutum bid -report Reuters.
  12. Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
  13. James Sherwood (24 February 2005), Can British heritage brandsfind an international voice? New York Times.
  14. ^ Felsted, Andrea (23 May 2009), "Future of Aquascutum in doubt", The Financial Times
  15. Samantha Conti (26 February 2007), Aquascutum Inks License With Novaseta Women's Wear Daily.
  16. ^ O'Brien, Rosalba (24 May 2009), "China's YGM Trading in talks to buy Aquascutum", Forbes, archived from the original on 14 January 2012, retrieved 24 May 2009
  17. Samantha Conti (9 June 2012), Crombie Interested in Aquascutum Women's Wear Daily.
  18. Isabella Steger (17 April 2012), Aquascutum, Worn by Churchill, Needs Asia Lifeline Wall Street Journal.
  19. Paul Sonne (9 September 2009), Tillman Buys Storied Clothier Aquascutum Wall Street Journal
  20. Thompson, James (9 September 2009). "Aquascutum returns home after Jaeger deal". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  21. Isabella Steger (17 April 2012), Aquascutum, Worn by Churchill, Needs Asia Lifeline Wall Street Journal.
  22. Mark Potter (8 September 2009), Jaeger team buys Aquascutum Reuters.
  23. Julie Crust (4 March 2010), Luxury retailer Aquascutum says 2 designers resign Reuters.
  24. Zoe Wood (31 July 2011), Aquascutum secures financial lifeline The Guardian.
  25. Samantha Conti (5 June 2012), Joanna Sykes to Exit Aquascutum Women's Wear Daily.
  26. Huffington Post, PA (17 April 2012). "Aquascutum, Historic Brand That Clothed Churchill And Queen Mother, To Go Into Administration". Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  27. "Aquascutum facing administration - FT". Reuters. 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  28. "BBC News - Aquascutum enters administration". Bbc.co.uk. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  29. Nina Jones (19 April 2012), Aquascutum Factory to Be Shuttered Women's Wear Daily.
  30. "Aquascutum sold to YGM Trading". BBC News. 10 May 2012.
  31. Trench coat maker Aquascutum to be sold for £97m BBC, 22 December 2016.
  32. "Old Aquascutum factory is reinvented as The Clothing Works". Make It British.
  33. Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Angela (29 December 2016). "Aquascutum sold for 97 million pounds". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  34. Samantha Conti (12 February 2015), Aquascutum is Coming to America Women's Wear Daily.
  35. Natalie Theodosi (27 July 2016), Aquascutum Announces Hires, Returns to London Fashion Week Women's Wear Daily.
  36. Morwenna Ferrier (13 October 2016), Supreme x Aquascutum jacket: peak collaboration The Guardian.
  37. "Raincoat maker Aquascutum sold for £97m". BBC News. 22 December 2016.
  38. "Business briefing: Uber judged fit to regain licence after rogue rides". Metro Newspaper UK. 28 September 2020.
  39. Jones, Marie (21 September 2020). "Trinity Entered into New Global Licensing Arrangements with Aquascutum".
  40. About - Aquascutum Active
  41. Aquascutum's New Man Women's Wear Daily, 7 August 2006.
  42. A Fashion Bond Vogue, 27 July 2006.
  43. A Fashion Bond Vogue, 27 July 2006.
  44. Magazine, Wallpaper* (August 2023). "Fashion - Wallpaper* Magazine". Wallpaper*.
  45. Nina Jones (11 July 2008), Decadent Deco Women's Wear Daily.
  46. Paul Casciato (16 September 2008), Aquascutum does global luxury in delphinium blue Reuters.
  47. Lauren Milligan (26 January 2010), Aquascutum: "Of The Moment" Vogue.
  48. Lauren Milligan (24 January 2012), Aquascutum's Girl Vogue.
  49. Jess Edwards (11 July 2014), Homeland's Damian Lewis fronts fashion campaign, looks hot Cosmopolitan.
  50. "Aquascutum". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 10 November 2021.

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