8 Old School Apparel Brands That Are Now Cool Again Thanks To Celebs

Trends come and go, and this statement is especially true when it comes to your clothes. Fashionistas around the world are always pushing the boundaries of what it means to be fashionable, and sometimes, they just need to pull something old school out from the archives.

Remember how Billabong and Ocean Pacific (OP) were huge in the past? Every kid on the block had a Billabong pencil case and an OP tee; in my school, if you had a Billabong wallet, you were cool.

However, those brands faded silently into the background over the years and were never really able to make a comeback in the local market.

On the other hand, there are some old brands that have managed to keep up with the times, and are now making a resurgence. If you want in on the hype, these are the brands to go for right now.

Here are eight apparel brands that have been resurrected by online trendsetters and celebrities:

1. Champion

Vintage sportswear brand Champion has been manufacturing quality products for athletes for a long time now, ever since 1919. The brand is perhaps best known for its reverse-weave sweatshirt, which is a timeless classic.

With influential figures like Kanye West and Virgil Abloh making comfy sportswear a cool thing to wear, Champion is enjoying unprecedented success in the streetwear scene.

Recent collaborations with brands like Vetements and Supreme has only made Champion more relevant and cooler, way cooler. Nowadays, you can spot a lot of people rocking Champion tees and sweatshirts on Instagram and on the streets.

2. Tommy Hilfiger/ Tommy Jeans

Here is one of the classic American brands that has managed to become relevant again in recent times.

Instagram models and celebs have been wearing tees and sweaters that sport a huge logo of the brand. This has no doubt influenced the masses to start buying Tommy Hilfiger clothes again.

But if that isn’t enough, the brand collaborated with fashion model and icon, Gigi Hadid to release several collections. The Chainsmokers are also ambassadors of the brand.

So, are they cool enough for you yet?

3. Calvin Klein

Famous for its denim, but perhaps even more so, its underwear line. Calvin Klein seems like the go-to choice for underwear in Hollywood.

Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner are just couple of celebs who’ve endorsed the brand; in fact, the Kardashians and Jenners were just recently enlisted to star in a new Calvin Klein advertisement.

It means something when a brand can make headlines with just underwear; but hey, you can check out the denim too.

4. GUESS

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Los Angeles, GUESS was a brand that tried to make a name for itself in denim. Looking at the brand’s denim jacket now, I think it’s fair to say that the company’s doing well in this department.

GUESS has Jennifer Lopez to help market the brand, and the company also made waves with the recent collaboration with rapper A$AP Rocky. In the streetwear scene, A$AP Rocky is pretty influential; hypebeasts love him.

So I guess that GUESS is back in the game now.

5. FILA

This is a sporting brand that dates back to 1911 in a small town in Italy. Of course, it doesn’t have the recognition that’s comparable to Nike and Adidas, but this brand is popping up more and more often on Instagram feeds these days.

One of the main factors is probably because of the chunky “dad shoe” trend, and FILA has one of the sickest chunky sneakers out there: the FILA Disruptor.

I’ve seen that shoe appear on the Hypebae Instagram page one too many times, and paired with the shoe would be some vintage FILA clothing.

Vintage is definitely cool right now.

6. PUMA

Fun fact: did you know that the founders of Adidas and PUMA are brothers? So if Adidas is all in on the hype, what makes you think PUMA won’t follow suit?

But of course, the sportswear fashion market is a tough one to compete in, and so PUMA has often taken a backseat to the giants like Nike and Adidas. That doesn’t mean the brand can’t appeal to the public though.

Rihanna has her own Fenty x PUMA line, and with Selena Gomez and The Weeknd as the brand’s ambassadors, PUMA is rolling out great designs in its apparel and footwear.

Not to mention, Selena has an insane following on Instagram, with over 130 million followers. Talk about being influential.

7. Kappa

Who remembers this one from back in the day? I remember being in primary school and kids all around me wore white Kappa shoes to school and carried Kappa backpacks.

The brand faded into the dark for a bit, but seems to be appearing online again. Loads of Instagram models have been spotted wearing Kappa, especially the pants with the logo draped along the seams.

Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner have also worn Kappa jackets out in public, which no doubt brought some attention to the brand.

8. Reebok

Remember how I said that the sportswear market is a tough one to compete in? Reebok was bought over by Adidas and now operates as a subsidiary of Adidas; but Reebok is still a brand on its own and the company is making good strides.

If you can’t already tell, the trend now is going towards the vintage look, and Reebok knows that. The brand focuses on the classics, like the Reebok Classic Leather sneakers and the Classics Sweatshirts.

Then of course, a celebrity needs to be associated with the brand. Pop star Ariana Grande is now the brand ambassador for Reebok and with her influence, the only way to go is up.

— —

Celebrities are constantly influencing us into buying and wearing certain things that we never thought we would like. Some may critique that you’re a sheep for following their style, but don’t we all borrow influences from other people?

But in any case, these eight brands above are reaping the benefits from the exposure through celebrities. No one knows how long the brands can stay in the game, but as long as the designs are consistently good, people will take notice.

In the meantime, maybe I should go dig for a Champion tee in a thrift store somewhere…