Hip-Hop Brand Pugilist Debuts
Pugilist Gear will roll out a line of T-shirts, caps, denim and womenswear in August at MAGIC International in Las Vegas.
The company has relocated to Irvine, Calif., from Las Vegas, where it sold T-shirts and beanies at big prize fights.The company, headed by Natalie Fears, is securing financing and manufacturing contractors to expand the line. Fears said former world-champ boxer Mike McCallum will endorse the brand.
The company showed some of the collection at the Black College Expo, which took place Jan. 25 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
“We’re not calling ourselves a hip-hop brand but are aiming our styles toward brand-conscious consumers from 14 to 45, and we’re concentrating on style and quality,” Fears said.
She added that the brand name implies an image of spirit rather than the literal meaning of “pugilist.”
“If you look ’pugilist’ up in the dictionary, it implies ’to fight,”’ said Fears. “We’re positioning it as an image of fighting for what you believe in.”
Fears hopes to land the brand in stores such as Nordstrom, Demo, Foot Locker, Footaction and Robinsons-May. The company expects that the line will retail from $22 to $85 when it debuts this summer.
For more information, visit pugilistgear.com, or call (714) 720-1460. —Robert McAllister
