Early years

Founded in 1968, Esprit was the first clothing line established by Susie and Doug Tompkins (also co-founders of The North Face) and was initially sold out of a VW bus, with the Tompkins' San Francisco-based apartment serving as the brand’s headquarters.^[7]

In 1979, Esprit brought on graphic designer John Casado—who designed the branding trademark of the first Macintosh computer—to develop and design the brand’s stencil-effect logo.^[8][9]

In 1985, the brand debuted its legendary "Real People Campaign," photographed by photographer Oliviero Toscani and featuring Esprit employees, architects, and designers, among them Ettore Sottsass, the Italian architect and founder of the Memphis Group.^[10][11] Sottsass was also commissioned to build Esprit’s European headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany, as well as set the visual direction for the brand’s retail stores.^[12] Other noteworthy architects and designers who contributed to the Esprit brand include Antonio Citterio and Norman Foster.^[13]

Transitional period

Throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Esprit experienced significant and rapid financial growth in multiple markets outside of the United States. At its highest point, Esprit Holdings’ market capitalization was over US$20 billion. Since the financial crisis in 2008, Esprit Holdings has faced a series of financial and market-share setbacks.^[14][15] With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Esprit gradually closed all stores in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Macau.^[16]

Brand comeback

William Pak was appointed as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer in September 2021^[17] and became interim CEO in October 2021, and subsequently named permanent CEO of Esprit in March 2022.^[18] In April 2022, Esprit reentered the Asian market with the opening of a long-term pop-up store located in Seoul, South Korea and followed by another pop-up store in Hong Kong in the summer of 2022.^[16] By the fall of 2022, after five years of losses, the company returned to profitability with a $48.5 million profit on $1 billion in revenues.^[19][20]

Ana Andjelic was appointed as the Chief Brand Officer in December 2022 to oversee the brand’s creative and marketing teams.^[21][20] In 2023—and following the brand’s reintroduction to NYC with a short-term pop-up on Prince St. — Esprit unveiled an experiential store space on Greene St. in Soho.^[22] As part of the brand’s new creative focus and direction, it launched a series of high-profile campaigns by photographer Richard Phibbs.^[23]

In April 2024, the Belgian franchise of Esprit filed for bankruptcy,^[24] with the expected closure of its 15 self-operated stores and 148 job losses. The Swiss franchise had filed for bankruptcy in March 2024 already.