Before Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren launched designer jeans in the 1970s, just three brands ruled the denim world. The Big Three were Levi's, Lee and Wrangler, each with distinctive stitching on the back pocket: double arches on Levi's, double waves on Lee, and just a straight "W" on the Wrangler. And although all denim was blue and light blue in color, each manufacturer carved out its own corner of the market. For the Wrangler, it was Western wear.
The birth of a legend
The company's history began in 1897, when 20-year-old CC Hudson left his farm in Williamson County, Tennessee, in search of a better life. He traveled to the fledgling textile town of Greensboro, North Carolina, where he found work in a dry goods factory, sewing buttons for 25 cents a day.When the factory closed a few years later, Hudson purchased several sewing machines from his former employer and, along with his brother Homer, applied his know-how to the production of work clothing, founding the Hudson Overall Company.
The used equipment and base located above a grocery store in Greensboro may not have been the most auspicious start, but after a while their overalls began selling. So much so that by 1919, the Hudsons expanded production into a warehouse and decided to drop their family name from the company name. Thus was born the Blue Bell Overall Company, which (with several corporate acquisitions along the way) eventually became the world-famous Wrangler brand.
First achievements
The company's first big success came in 1936 with the Super Big Ben Overalls, a pair of overalls that used the newly introduced sanforization technology. The special thing about these overalls is that they shrink by less than 1% with each wash. This was unheard of in the 1930s and brought a lot of income to the business. Unfortunately, CC Hudson died just after the release of what became his company's first defining garment.
Although the Wrangler was born out of workwear, it came to define ranch style in 1946. With a new, branded name, Wrangler began work on jeans specifically designed for cowboys, with the help of Rodeo Ben, a cowboy tailor of Polish origin whose real name was Bernard Lichtenstein.
Jeans and fame
The following year, 1947, introduced the 13MWZ jeans, so named because they were made from 13 ounces of denim, but also known as the “cowboy cut.”They were designed with riders in mind and featured features such as flatter seams, rear pockets positioned for riding comfort, a tightly fitted crotch and flat rivets to protect the saddle from scratches.
Also featured are Wrangler's signature “W” stitching on the rear pockets and rope logo. Rodeo legends such as Jim Shoulders, Bill Linderman and Freckles Brown have road tested the 13MWZ and supported the Wrangler brand by putting them in the saddle. This did wonders for Wrangler sales, and the brand was talked about on literally every corner.
America's post-war obsession with denim took the Wrangler to new heights. By 1962, the company began its activities in Europe with the opening of a plant in Belgium. In 1974, they became the first (and still only) brand officially endorsed by the Rodeo Cowboys Association. Then, in 1981, they made a historic deal in NASCAR, backing legendary driver Dale Earnhardt and his blue and yellow Wrangler Jean Machine. All this was enough to make them the market leader by 1991, at which point one in four men in the United States owned a Wrangler.
Fight against competitors
Today, Levi's market share is more than twice that of Wrangler, but the brand continues to dominate its niche in the denim world. In December 2013, the company launched Wranglernetwork.com, a news and entertainment site covering rodeo, NASCAR and country music.
Wranglers have appeared on screen in films such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), where Brad Pitt wears a 24MJZ jacket, Hud (1963) as a denim shirt worn to perfection by Paul Newman, and Baby, the Rain Must Fall ” (1965), where Steve McQueen also sparkles in jeans from this brand. In addition, the brand continues to be associated with fashion ambassadors such as country star Jason Aldean, famed quarterback Brett Favre and the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt, with whom the label has been associated for 58 years.
At the time of compiling the catalog of American sneaker manufacturers, there were no shoes on the official Wrangler website. However, it is available in retail stores. These are sneakers and sneakers for men and women, aimed at everyday wear and amateur sports. The brand's sports shoes are manufactured in India and China.
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