Retro cool is back
Credit it to the vintage revival, an undying fascination with the Rat Pack or current indie bands, but retro is back, and it’s money, baby.
One of the brands that resurrected ’50s cool in a big way is Original Penguin by Munsingwear, helped in no small part by the sheer number of male celebrities who have carried the Penguin on their backs (or the famous logo on their fronts, whichever way you look at it).
Brad Pitt was seen in countless magazines wearing Penguin’s trademark Earl polo in Wood, usually matching it with the brand’s plaid shorts. Justin Timberlake’s look often incorporates their trilby hats. Jake Gyllenhaal is also a fan of the Earl polo, the slim fit of which shows off his Prince of Persia physique. Matthew McConaughey and David Arquette favor the woven shirts, while James Franco has sported one of the lightweight sweaters.
Adam Brody wore Penguin’s polos on episodes of The OC, and American Pie’s Jason Biggs chooses fun, colorful Penguin ties to match his sense of humor.
When the American brand came to Manila a little over a year ago, local male celebrities young and old paid it the same rabid attention. “Our first customer when we opened in Rockwell was Jericho Rosales,” says Eric Lee, Penguin’s managing partner in the Philippines. “Most celebrities here buy by the bulk like Jericho, who spent US$500 on mostly basics like the Earl, the Daddy-O and the Jack shirts.”
Other regular customers include John Lloyd Cruz, Jake Cuenca and a couple of Estradas: “John Estrada wears it on his TV series Agua Bendita,” Lee says. “Also with the presidential candidates during the past election: Joseph Estrada was wearing the orange Ratner jacket, and Manny Villar was wearing the Earl in Orange Rust in two of his political ads on TV. So there’s a lot of exposure for Penguin.”
According to American creative director Ann Payne, who came to Manila for Penguin’s spring-summer 2010 launch last week, while the kind of massive exposure provided by a celeb like Brad Pitt is always welcome, Penguin wants to target the more aspirational guy who’s under the radar, cool but not overexposed — someone like Tyson Ritter of the band The All-American Rejects, who was the model for the fall 2009 campaign.
“Our guy likes to go to diners, little bars, hang out with his friends, go vintage shopping,” says Payne, who is also senior vice president of Penguin merchandising/design. An Ohio girl now based in New York City, she says, “Most of the guys that are our core customer are college-educated, they’re not heavily into sports, they’re less of the jock and more the guy who’s into indie bands and movies and art.”
Even if the brand caters to 24- to 35-year-olds, Penguin attracts much younger kids — thanks to the popularity of the vintage look — and a much older crowd, some of whom are familiar with the American brand Munsingwear.
The company started in 1955 as a leisure golf shirt company and stars like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and famous golfers like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus wore the brand. “And then it kind of went into extinction for a while, and back in ’99, 2000 we started to see this whole vintage style come back,” recalls Payne. “And so the owners of Perry Ellis purchased the rights to Penguin and re-launched it as a lifestyle brand — more retro, American, ’50s, cool sportswear.”
Back in the ’50s Penguin founder Leonard Pederson was head salesman for Minneapolis-based brand Munsingwear, which began as an underwear and military supply company. Legend has it that Pederson went to New York for a sales meeting and before flying home, hit the NY bars with a couple of friends. On the way to the airport the merry group stopped by a taxidermy store and found a stuffed penguin, which Pederson picked up and brought on the plane, to the amusement of a stewardess who named it Pete and put Pederson’s tie on it.
“He said, ‘This would be a great logo to put on a polo,’” recounts Payne, “so this was the first American polo that had a logo.”
Thus was born the 55, the first golf polo, which is regularly updated and comes in the softest, most breathable Pima cotton. Penguin issues four collections a year, with swimwear now such an important part of their market they plan to open a couple of “swim” stores soon. The signature Earl (named after famous bowler Anthony Earl) was introduced in 1962, “but we started doing it in crazy bright colors and just extending the brand,” Payne says.
At Penguin you can find, not just complete lines of clothing for men and select pieces for women (the Penguin girl is personified by Zooey Deschanel) but also accessories like watches, ties, jewelry and sunglasses. Boxers, luggage and fabrics for the home are being discussed, and next year a unisex fragrance will be released. “Everybody asks, ‘What does a penguin smell like?’” laughs Ann.
Thus far the Philippines is Penguin’s only outpost in Asia, “so for now the Philippines will be our main focus.”
Lee and wife, Cheryl Lao, are aggressively expanding to meet the demand. They’ve opened six stores already and plan to have three more by the end of the year.
“Everyone’s notion is that it’s old, it’s for daddies, for my grandpa,” Lee says, “so we want to reposition ourselves in the Philippine market as something really new, funky and hip that would cater to all ages and classes.”
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Original Penguin boutiques are located at Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, Bonifacio High Street, Anthem Greenbelt 5 and MarQuee Mall Pampanga. Soon to open are TriNoma, New Port City, Ayala Center Cebu and Davao.
