Case Study: The Best and Worst Hip-Hop Fashion Lines
Sean John
This award-winning fashion line launched in 1998 with its debut of men’s sportswear for the spring 1999 season and since then, the brand has branched out and includes a men’s suits and fragrance line, a big & tall and boys collection, accessories, and a women’s line. Presently, annual retail sales for Sean John in the U.S. are over $525 million. Sean John, says Bentz, continues to be prosperous because Diddy has “maintained his credibility and has surpassed the rapper-designer genre by going on to different endeavors. It was a stepping stone towards his growing popularity and business empire.” Even though Sean John’s flagship store in New York City shut down at the end of 2010, Combs scored a win last spring when he signed an exclusive distribution deal with Macy’s for his spring 2011 collection.
