Editing Kangol

{{Short description|English clothing company}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Kangol
| logo = Kangol.svg
| logo_size = 120
| founder = Jacques Spreiregen
| type = Subsidiary
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1938}}
| location_city = [[Cleator]], Cumbria
| location_country = England
| locations = 
| key_people = 
| area_served = 
| industry = Textile
| num_employees = 
| parent = [[Frasers Group]]
| divisions = 
| subsid = 
| caption = 
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.kangol.com/}}
| dissolved = 
| footnotes = 
| intl = 
}}

'''Kangol''' is a British clothing [[corporation|company]] famous for its [[headwear]]. The name Kangol reflects the original materials for production, the K coming from the word 'silK' (a recent attribution to 'Knitting' is incorrect), the ANG from 'ANGora', and the OL from  'woOL'. Although no Kangol hat has ever actually been manufactured in [[Australia]], the Kangaroo logo was adopted by Kangol in 1983 because [[Americans]] commonly asked where they could get "the Kangaroo hat".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bollmanhats.com/brands/kangol.html |title=Kangol |website=[[Bollman Hat Company]] |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203022637/http://www.bollmanhats.com/brands/kangol.html |archive-date=3 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Early history==
Founded in 1938 by a [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish Jew]], Jacques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers. Spreiregen, born Jacob Henryk Spreiregen in [[Warsaw]] in 1893, emigrated with his family to [[Paris]] in 1906. He then moved to [[London]] in 1914, where he worked as an importer and seller of various products that included wool, woollen goods, and berets. He served in the [[British Army]] in [[World War I]], joining the [[Labour Corps (British Army)|Labour Corps]] to drive ambulances, and obtained [[British nationality law|British nationality]] in 1920. In 1938 he was joined by his nephew Joseph Meisner to open and run the first Kangol factory at [[Cleator|Cleator, Cumbria, England]]. A second factory was opened at nearby [[Frizington]], and later, under the direction of Spreiregen's younger nephew Sylvain Meisner, a third factory, manufacturing motorcycle helmets and seat belts in [[Carlisle]]. Kangol was the major supplier of berets for the armed forces during [[World War II]]; the company also provided the berets for the [[Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics|British Olympic Team in 1948]].

==Recent history==
Kangol has been owned by [[Frasers Group]] since 2006, when it acquired the brand from [[private-equity fund]] August Equity Trust. Licences to manufacture and sell Kangol apparel have been sold to many different companies, including D2 and [[Topshop]]. In 2002, the Kangol apparel brand was acquired by Kangol Clothing North America LLC, a subsidiary of Chesterfield Manufacturing Corp in Charlotte North Carolina. In 2003, Chesterfield was acquired by Tomasello Inc., which was wholly owned and led by David W. Tomasello. The global rights to Kangol hats have been held by American hatmakers [[Bollman Hat Company]] since 2002.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article660042.ece |title=Sports World owner sees right fit for Kangol hats |first=Sarah |last=Butler |date=5 December 2006 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London, UK |access-date=6 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612173443/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article660042.ece |archive-date=12 June 2011}}</ref>

It was announced in February 2009 that Bollman were reviewing their worldwide operations, putting 33 jobs and the future of the Kangol head office in Cleator in doubt.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/business/16781563.kangol-jobs-at-risk-as-cleator-hat-factory-faces-closure/ |title=Kangol jobs at risk as Cleator hat factory faces closure |first=Matthew |last=Legg |date=9 February 2009 |newspaper=[[News and Star]] |location=Carlisle, Cumbria, England |access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref> On 6 April 2009, it was announced that the original factory would be converted to a warehouse with the loss of 25 jobs. No employees now remain employed at the company's original site as the outlet shop closed at the end of August 2009. The site in [[Frizington]] is now a housing estate, whilst the original Cleator site has been partly demolished to provide a Park & Ride facility for nearby [[Sellafield]] and to facilitate other potential redevelopment. However, hats will continue to be made at their sites in Eastern Europe and the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7985058.stm |title=Further blow to textile industry |date=6 April 2009 |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref>

==Pop fashion==
In the 1960s, designers [[Mary Quant]] and [[Pierre Cardin]] worked with the company, whose products graced the heads of the rich and famous, including [[the Beatles]] and [[Arnold Palmer]], and later [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]. The company also supplied uniformed organisations such as the [[Scout Association]].<ref name=scotsman>{{Cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/a-beret-good-show-70-years-of-kangol-2452187 |title=A beret good show: 70 years of Kangol |date=26 November 2008  |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |location=Edinburgh |access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref>

In the 1980s Kangol berets entered a new phase of fashion history with their adoption by members of the [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] community, such as [[Grandmaster Flash]], [[Run-DMC]], [[LL Cool J]], [[Slick Rick]], [[Kangol Kid]] of [[UTFO]], and [[The Notorious B.I.G.]]

The brand was popularised even more by the 1991 movie ''[[New Jack City]]''. The release of more consciously stylish products in the 1990s such as the furgora (angora-wool mix) Spitfire, was helped by its presence upon the head of [[Samuel L. Jackson]] in 1997.<ref name=scotsman/> [[Kevin Eubanks]], bandleader for ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'', sported a Kangol beret on an almost nightly basis.

In 2009, [[Eminem]] wore the Cotton Twill Army Cap Kangol hat on his ''[[Beautiful (Eminem song)|Beautiful]]'' video.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgT1AidzRWM | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/lgT1AidzRWM| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Eminem - Beautiful (Official Music Video) |author=EminemMusic |date=25 November 2009 |website=YouTube |access-date=6 January 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As of 2024, Eminem's main hat style has been Kangol's army caps.

==In popular culture==
[[Image:Samuel L Jackson at San Diego ComicCon 2008.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Samuel L. Jackson]] at San Diego ComicCon 2008]]

* The Kangol Bermuda Casual [[bucket hat]] served as the iconic signature headwear for rap artist/actor [[LL Cool J]] early in his music career.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Bobb |first1=Brooke |title=LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, and More: The Kangol Hat's Greatest Hip-Hop Style Moments |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-alexander-wang-kangol-hats-hip-hop-style |magazine=Vogue |access-date=2 August 2023 |date=16 December 2016}}</ref>
* Rap and hip-hop artists [[Slick Rick]], [[Dana Dane]], [[De La Soul]] and [[N.W.A]] have referenced Kangol in their lyrics.
* [[Wesley Snipes]] as Nino Brown and his gang, the Cash Money Brothers, wear hats by Kangol throughout the movie ''[[New Jack City]]''.<ref name=farout/>
* [[Samuel L. Jackson]] is known for wearing Kangol hats. His character Ordell Robbie wore a Kangol back to front in the movie ''[[Jackie Brown (film)|Jackie Brown]]''.<ref name=farout>{{cite web |last1=Starkey |first1=Aron |title=How Samuel L. Jackson immortalised Kangol |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-samuel-l-jackson-immortalised-kangol/ |website=Far Out |access-date=2 August 2023 |date=21 December 2021}}</ref>
* The movie ''[[Straight Outta Compton (film)|Straight Outta Compton]]'' features a scene where Ice Cube gets into a dispute with a New York rapper, eventually telling him "Wearing a Kangol don't make you LL Cool J!"
* Soul singer [[Gregory Porter]] wears a Kangol Summer Spitfire cap.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Rebecca |title=This is why Gregory Porter is wearing the same hat every time you see him |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/01/13/this-is-why-gregory-porter-is-wearing-the-same-hat-every-time-you-see-him-6380739/ |newspaper=Metro |access-date=2 August 2023 |date=29 April 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.kangol.com}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/articles/2005/12/06/inside_lives_kath_ford_kangol_feature.shtml "Working for Kangol"]—BBC Cumbria
* [https://www.littleireland.co.uk/2019/09/cleator-flax-mill.html Cleator Flax Mill]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/articles/2005/06/02/inside_lives_mary_bette_davis_beret.shtml "Making a Beret for Bette Davis"]—BBC Cumbria

[[Category:1938 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Berets]]
[[Category:British brands]]
[[Category:Clothing companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Clothing companies established in 1938]]
[[Category:Hat companies]]
[[Category:Hip-hop fashion]]
[[Category:Sports Direct]]
[[Category:Golf culture]]