Chrome Hearts
 | |
| Type | Luxury brand |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Richard Stark, John Bowman |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Key people | Laurie Lynn Stark |
| Products | Leather goods, sterling-silver jewelry, eyewear, clothing, furniture |
| Website | https://www.chromehearts.com |
Chrome Hearts is a Los Angeles luxury brand known for leather goods, sterling-silver jewelry, eyewear, clothing, furniture and other home goods. It was founded in 1988 by Richard Stark and leather manufacturer John Bowman, with sterling-silver jeweler Leonard Kamhout joining shortly afterward. The brand developed a biker-inspired aesthetic and became associated with musicians, designers and celebrities.[1]
History
Chrome Hearts began in a Los Angeles garage, where Stark and Bowman set out to make leather jackets they wanted to wear themselves. The brand's first major exposure came through the Sex Pistols: after it designed costumes for the 1989 film Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, guitarist Steve Jones began wearing Chrome Hearts onstage. Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses followed, establishing the brand in rock music.[1]
By the early 1990s the brand had drawn the attention of the fashion industry, and in 1992 it received the CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year award, presented to Stark by Cher. Stark kept his distance from the seasonal calendar and conventions of the fashion industry; a 1999 Japan Times article called him an "antidesigner."[1]
Rei Kawakubo helped introduce Chrome Hearts to Japan in the 1990s, stocking its goods for a season at the Comme des Garçons flagship in Aoyama. The two companies later collaborated on silver pendants and apparel in 2007.[1]
The three founders split in 1994, leaving Richard Stark and his wife, Laurie Lynn Stark, in control of the company. Chrome Hearts opened its first New York City flagship in 1996. As of 2020, it operated 28 stores, including locations in Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas, and was stocked by a small number of luxury retailers such as Maxfield, Bergdorf Goodman, Selfridges and Dover Street Market. It did not sell online at the time.[1]
Products and collaborations
Alongside clothing, eyewear and jewelry, Chrome Hearts makes leather and wooden furniture. Among its most recognizable products are trucker hats with gothic lettering and denim decorated with leather crosses. The cross-covered denim became the subject of a legal dispute in 2020 after the fast-fashion company MNML Los Angeles produced cheaper alternatives.[1] The brand's cross jewelry is the reference for Chrome Cross, an earring trait in the Milady Maker NFT collection.
Chrome Hearts has collaborated with the Rolling Stones, Bape, Rick Owens and Comme des Garçons. A collection with Bella Hadid debuted exclusively at Selfridges in 2017 and was followed by further capsules. The brand has also produced custom pieces fitted with its silver dagger hardware, including modified Air Jordan I sneakers and Rolex watches.[1]
Virgil Abloh's Off-White collaborated with Chrome Hearts on T-shirts and trucker hats in 2015, followed by another capsule in 2016. The two worked together again in 2018 on a bright-orange co-branded hoodie and pieces for Art Basel Miami. In 2019, Chrome Hearts' New York flagship hosted Abloh's Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2019 collection, in a space that included a split wooden bench designed by Abloh and Stark.[1]