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DESIGNER

Iconic Designers | GUESS

An internationally renowned denim designer, GUESS first opened their doors with just that: a line of women’s jeans. After their initial success with the line, GUESS gradually expanded their collections to include men’s jeans, women’s clothing and accessories, various lines of watches and jewellery, and a much-loved childrenswear line.

They are known not only for their jeans but also for their iconic upturned triangle logo emblazoned across t-shirts and sweatshirts, which features heavily in each collection.

All images by GUESS

4 Jun 2020

In the beginning…

Georges Marciano grew up in southern France alongside four siblings, three brothers and a sister. They had a modest upbringing and in 1981, Georges and his brothers left their lives in Marseilles, France and headed for the United States of America to launch a clothing company: GUESS. Today, GUESS is famous all around the world for its classic fitted denim, all beginning with a pair of light, stonewashed, slim-fit jeans. Georges designed the initial lookbook, and the other brothers each played various roles to assist in the brand’s fruition, taking on production, distribution and advertising responsibilities. 

The jeans…

The style that started it all was called the 3-zip Marilyn. Jeans were then typically solid dye, but after being inspired by a denim wash Georges saw on a pair of jeans in an Italian laundromat, his stonewashed version came to life. The cut of this jean was also updated to be slimmer and more form-fitting, in contrast to jeans at the time being more of a practical piece of clothing rather than a fashion statement.

Growing success...

Aside from their own store in Beverly Hills, Bloomingdale’s was the first retailer to carry the line initially only buying 24 pairs of jeans. They sold out in a matter of hours, launching the brothers’ success. By the end of their first year, sales had reached an impressive $6million. GUESS subsequently had repeated triumph with advertising campaigns featuring then-unknown models, often kick starting their careers, such as Eva Herzigova and Claudia Schiffer. The fashion house soon grew to include a menswear collection and various watch and accessory collections. In 1984, Baby Guess was launched, which was subsequently expanded to include older children’s clothing and renamed GUESS Kids.

Today...

Since then, GUESS has had a number of high profile famous faces, including Camila Cabello in 2017, Jennifer Lopez in 2018, and, 23 years after her initial photoshoot with them, Claudia Schiffer in 2012. It’s a global designer with continued success, still known to this day for their denim and standout upturned red triangle logo. This extends to the childrenswear collection, which provides fun and colourful clothing with comfortable cuts as well as playful pieces, season after season.

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