Clothing Company Definitions — United States clothing company definitions from Apparel Search
Ben Davis is a United States based work clothing line, founded by its namesake Benjamin Franklin Davis in 1935. His grandfather Jacob Davis was instrumental in the creation of the original Levi's jeans. The brand's iconic logo is a smiling gorilla, its clothing is known for durability, and despite absolutely no advertising it became very popular among music-related subcultures.
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Company founder Benjamin Franklin Davis' grandfather Jacob Davis was instrumental in the creation of the original Levi's Jeans. Despite absolutely no advertising Ben Davis is very popular amongst many music related subcultures, especially West Coast rappers. The clothing is very popular among Chicano and "cholo" youth culture. Ben Davis shirts have been shown in the 1992 "Let Me Ride" video from the artist Dr. Dre, and the Beastie Boys, a New York based hip-hop outfit, have mentioned the brand in their music. Chicano rapper Lil' Rob has mentioned Ben Davis clothing in his songs. Ice Cube mentions Ben Davis in his song "Ghetto Vet" on his War and Peace Vol. 1 album & also wears a Ben Davis shirt on his "Friday" music video.
Ben Davis is run by his son Frank, who was interviewed in a 1995 Grand Royal magazine article.
The iconic logo of the brand is a smiling gorilla which has been said to be the inspiration for the xlarge clothing logo, also a gorilla.
At one time the tags on Ben Davis items boasted "Union Made Plenty Tough" although this has now been changed to "USA Made Plenty Tough" as they had a dispute with the union workers.
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Ben Davis
Work clothing is designed for the job first: hard-wearing fabrics, roomy cuts that allow physical work, construction that survives industrial washing, and prices a working buyer can replace without hesitation. Ben Davis built its name inside that discipline from 1935, with a family connection to the very origin of American workwear — founder Benjamin Franklin Davis's grandfather Jacob Davis was instrumental in creating the original Levi's jeans. The smiling gorilla logo and the Plenty Tough tag line said the same thing two ways: this clothing is made to be worked in.
What makes the brand a fashion subject is the second life of those work clothes. With no advertising at all, Ben Davis shirts were taken up by West Coast hip hop and Chicano youth culture, worn by Dr. Dre in the Let Me Ride video and by Ice Cube in the Friday video, and name-checked by the Beastie Boys and Lil Rob. That adoption pattern — authentic workwear read as style precisely because it was never designed as fashion — has repeated across American clothing, from chore coats to work boots. Musicians wore the shirts because they signified something real, and the brand's refusal to advertise protected exactly the credibility that made it desirable. Few clothing companies demonstrate as cleanly that a garment's meaning can be created entirely by its wearers.
Ben Davis was founded in 1935 by Benjamin Franklin Davis. The company has been run by his son Frank Davis.
The iconic logo of the brand is a smiling gorilla. The gorilla has been said to be the inspiration for the XLarge clothing logo, which is also a gorilla.
Ben Davis is a work clothing line — durable work shirts and workwear. Its tags once read Union Made Plenty Tough and later USA Made Plenty Tough, and the clothing became popular with West Coast rappers and in Chicano youth culture, appearing in music by Dr. Dre, the Beastie Boys, Ice Cube and Lil Rob.