Crombie (clothing)

Last updated

Crombie1805 Ltd.
TypePrivate
Industry Apparel, accessories
Founded1805
FounderJohn Crombie
Headquarters,
United Kingdom
Products Coats, suits, fashion accessories
Website crombie.co.uk

Crombie 1805 Ltd., formerly known as J&J Crombie Ltd., is a Scottish fashion company, producing high-end clothing and accessories under the Crombie brand name. Crombie is most famous for its luxury coats; so much so that the word 'Crombie' is sometimes used by other companies to refer to their own coats produced in the style of Crombie's most famous three-quarter length (usually wool) overcoats, although the Crombie company has been known to take legal action to prevent this trademark word from being used generically. [1]

Contents

History

Crombie was founded by John Crombie and his son James in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1805, making it one of Scotland’s oldest brands. [2] Crombie has manufactured from several different mills in Scotland and England for over two centuries, initially at Cothal Mills in Aberdeen, and most famously from 1859 at Grandholm Mill also in Aberdeen. Crombie began as a producer of luxury cloth, which it sold to cloth merchants and direct to London tailors. By the 1850s, Crombie had won quality awards from Queen Victoria and Napoleon III at the Great Exhibition in London and the Exposition Universelle in Paris respectively. Later, Crombie expanded from simply manufacturing the fabric for other producers, to creating coats under its own name. A key factor in Crombie's expansion, from the 1860s onwards, was the receipt of military contracts. Crombie supplied officers' uniforms to the British Army and Royal Air Force in the First and Second World Wars. After the Second World War, Crombie became part of Illingworth Morris; at that time Britain's largest woollen textile company, of which actress Pamela Mason was the majority shareholder.

In 1883 the company registered its incorporated status as a company limited by shares under the Companies Acts 1862 to 1880, in Scotland on 20 November. [3] The founding Crombie family sold their interest in the company in 1928, to another British textile family, the Salts (famous as the founders of Saltaire in West Yorkshire). Crombie had a wide-ranging export market into Japan and the United States. with Japanese sales said to have climaxed to £50,000 per year in the 1920s – which equates to approximately £2.35M in today’s market. [4] By the 1930s Crombie coats had commenced advertisements for both male and female genders in Canadian, Australian and US newspapers. [5] The Crombie trademark was registered on 7 September 1949. Initially the design type was said to hold shields containing figurative elements or inscriptions. The trademark was later adapted with the addition of various leaves and thistles in 2011. [6]

Beginning in the early 1960s, Crombie coats were fashionable among mods, who saw them as a stylish item of clothing that enhanced their clean-cut image. It was an alternative to the popular fishtail parka or trenchcoat. As the 1960s wore on, and into the early 1970s, Crombie-style coats were popular within the skinhead and suedehead subcultures.

In the 1980s the company was purchased and became privately owned.

Crombie has long appealed to international statesmen and royalty. Crombie lists King George VI, Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Dwight D Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy among its historic customers. Alongside this list of patrons, actor Jack Nicholson wore several styles of Crombie coat in his role as The Joker in the 1989 film, Batman . [7]

In 1990, production at the Grandholm Mill ceased, and was moved to other mills in Scotland and England. (The A-listed Grandholm factory site was converted into a residential project in 2005. ) [5]

From 1995 to 2004, Crombie also held the royal warrant as a supplier to the Prince of Wales. In 2014 it was announced the new Twelfth Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi, would wear a Crombie with a red lining. [8] Such was the success of Capaldi's role as Doctor Who, Crombie saw an increase in sales by 100%. [2] The Crombie style incorporated a heavy, dark, woollen, knee-length overcoat paired with a red, silk, handkerchief in the upper pocket. [9] In 1996 designer William Johnston Ewart, inspired by the deep tones of the iconic Crombie Overcoating Range, created tartan which was placed on the Scottish Register of Tartans for the Crombie House Check. [10]

Crombie previously had retail stores in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, was sold through independent retailers, such as Harrods and department stores in North America, Europe and East Asia. Crombie also sold worldwide via its website. [11]

At the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, on 29 April 2020, Crombie gave notice via its social media channels that their online store would be closing. [12] Subsequently, on 16 May 2020, Crombie shared a press release stating they had suspended operations until further notice. A message was placed on their website as a holding page to mirror this announcement. [7] [13] [14]

In March 2022 it was announced that Crombie is under new ownership. Crombie 1805 acquired the business and the trademarks of J. & J. Crombie Ltd.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilt</span> Tartan-patterned garment worn in Scotland

A kilt is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. The small kilt or modern kilt emerged in the 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, and more broadly with Gaelic or Celtic heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat</span> Warming outerwear garment for men and women

A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these. Other possible features include collars, shoulder straps, and hoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tartan</span> Predominantly Scottish cloth pattern

Tartan is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming simple or complex rectangular patterns. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland, and Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. The earliest surviving samples of tartan-style cloth are around 3,000 years old and were discovered in Xinjiang, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flannel</span> Soft woven fabric with a lightly napped surface

Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, bed sheets, and sleepwear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overcoat</span> Coat worn over street dress

An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important.

Jaeger is a British fashion brand and retailer of womenswear and menswear. Traditionally known for a classic 'twinset and pearls' image and the use of high-quality natural fibres, it has focused on updating its brand image since 2008, when it first appeared at London Fashion Week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tweed</span> Rough, unfinished woollen fabric, of a soft, open texture

Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained by mixing dyed wool before it is spun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacocks (clothing)</span> British fast-fashion retail chain

Peacocks is a fast-fashion retail chain from the United Kingdom-based in Cardiff, Wales. The chain is now part of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill group, and employs over 6,000 people. There are currently over four hundred Peacocks retail outlets located in the United Kingdom; and more than two hundred stores located in twelve other countries throughout Europe.

Patons and Baldwins was a leading British manufacturer of knitting yarn. It was an original constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquascutum</span> British luxury clothing company

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

Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) is a Carlisle-based retailer specialising in clothing, along with interests in homewares and destination shopping for tourists. It was previously owned by the Dubai-based British billionaire Philip Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John William Crombie</span> Scottish woollen manufacturer (1858–1908)

John William Crombie was a Scottish woollen manufacturer, folklorist and Liberal Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internacionale</span> British clothing retailer

Internacionale was a British retailer of fashion apparel and home accessories that target fashion-conscious women. It sold women's wear including dresses, tops, jeans, trousers, jackets and jewellery. Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, Internacionale has stores throughout the United Kingdom. It operates under the brand "Internacionale" in numerous city centres in the UK, while having homeware stores under the brand "Au Naturale" in suburbs. In 2013, the company went into administration and was then sold to Internacionale UK, a new company backed by the existing shareholders of the former company. The sale kept more than 1,500 jobs alive in 114 remaining stores of Internacionale at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Warm</span> British military greatcoat

A British Warm, British warm or British Warm overcoat is a type of woollen overcoat based on the greatcoats worn by British Army officers in the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covert coat</span> Type of overcoat

A covert coat or Crombie coat is a gentleman's overcoat typically with notched lapels which originated in the late 19th century as a "short topcoat" to be worn for hunting and horse riding.

James Edward Crombie FRSE LLD was a Scottish philanthropist, meteorologist and seismologist. He was a major benefactor of Aberdeen University. He underwrote the costs of several seismological projects undertaken by Oxford University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maud (plaid)</span>

A maud is a woollen blanket or plaid woven in a pattern of small black and white checks known as Border tartan, Shepherd's check, Shepherd's plaid or Galashiels grey. It was in common use as an item of clothing in the southern counties of Scotland and the northern counties of England until the early twentieth century.

Philip Edward Day is a Dubai-based British billionaire businessman, and the CEO and owner of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which owns Peacocks, Jaeger, Jane Norman, Austin Reed, and other high-street retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Jeffrey (fashion designer)</span> Scottish fashion designer

Charles Jeffrey is a Scottish fashion designer known for his punk-inspired, gender-fluid designs influenced by his Scottish heritage and London's queer club scene. Jeffrey has been described as "speaking to young London the way Alexander McQueen spoke to his generation," and by Vogue as "the upholder of all that is human, creative and cheerful about British fashion." Jeffrey launched his label Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY in 2015, after graduating from Central St Martins. He has been nominated for and won numerous industry awards. Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY has been worn by figures as wide-ranging as Harry Styles, Tilda Swinton, Bimini Bon Boulash, and K-pop star J-Hope of BTS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District tartans of Australia</span> Registered tartans for Australia, its capital city and States

District tartans for the Commonwealth of Australia and for each of its constituent States have been registered in the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT). Additionally, fashion tartans covering either Australia as a whole, or its capital city, Canberra, have been registered in the SRT, as have district tartans in respect of some of Australia's local government areas.

References

  1. "Crombie: Coats Maketh the Man". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 UK, FashionNetwork com. "Crombie stays in hibernation for now, future unclear". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  3. "CEDARBLUE LIMITED filing history – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. "Scotland's wardrobe: A brief history of the Crombie Coat". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Mencyclopaedia: Crombie – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  6. "J & J CROMBIE LTD, A United Kingdom Trademark of J & J Crombie Limited. Application Number: UK00000682279 :: Trademark Elite Trademarks". www.trademarkelite.com. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 Geek, The Chic. "Crombie: Menswear Diamonds In The Rough?". thechicgeek.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  8. Graham, John (October 2005). Where to Wear London. Where to Wear International Ltd. ISBN   9780976687740.
  9. "Crombie | 70s Fashion" . Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  10. "Tartan Details – The Scottish Register of Tartans". www.tartanregister.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  11. Whelan, Grace (29 March 2019). "Menswear brand Crombie looks for buyers". Drapers. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  12. "Important | Online Store Closure Notice". us2.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  13. Seares, Emily (4 September 2020). "Crombie suspends all operations". Drapers. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  14. UK, FashionNetwork com. "Crombie stays in hibernation for now, future unclear". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 29 October 2021.