Kangol was founded in 1938 by Jakob (Jacques) Spreiregen in Cleator, Cumbria. The name was formed from a combination of letters; K from silk or knitted, ANG from angora and OL from wool – Kangol had a better sound to it than Olangk.
Jakob was born in Warsaw of Jewish parents in 1893. Before WW1 Jakob flees the Tsarist regime (ruling Warsaw at the time) and heads to France where he changes his name to Jacques Henry Sergene. From France he makes it across the Channel to England and joins the army there. Serving with the Medical Corps during the war he soon had to return to France. Back in England, after the war, he finds himself a job importing Basque berets, as no one in Britain makes these. In 1938 he takes off with his own brand, Kangol.
The pre-WW2 years are difficult for Kangol, trading at a loss due to the heavy investment for beret making machines. It takes till 1942, with General Bernard Montgomery leading the beret fashion charge, that the beret quickly rises in popularity and rapidly becomes the must-have item of late WW2. With the rise of poverty following WW2, Jakob creates the no frills utility beret, which is an instant success with the people.
During and after the war, Kangol berets were the height of 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, golf player Arnold Palmer and later Princess Diana. The company also supplied uniformed organizations such as the Scout Association.
In the 1980s Kangol berets entered a new phase of fashion history with their adoption by members of the hip-hop community, such as Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC and LL Cool J. 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 actor Samuel L. Jackson in 1997.
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