Looking Back at Esprit, the Socially Conscious Art-Prepster Brand that Defined the '80s

Douglas Tompkins, the man who in the ‘80s founded both North Face and Esprit with his ex-wife/ardent Democratic party supporter Susie Tompkins Buell, died this week at the age of 72. WWD reports the cause as a boating accident in Chile—Tompkins was a longtime conservationist and fan of the outdoors, and he built his companies to serve those interests, starting Esprit in 1968 San Francisco and initially selling garments out the back of a VW bus.

North Face has been an enduring brand—and demand for its ‘90s aesthetics have driven up prices of the vintage gear—but it’s Esprit that triggers the nostalgia feelings most vividly. Though the company still thrives worldwide, its glory years were throughout the 1980s and early ‘90s, when the business boomed after a new generation began to appreciate the environmental and social consciousness upon which the brand was based.

In its heyday, Esprit was defined by quirky styling and vibrant colors that split the difference between the Memphis Group-inspired pop art and preppy French influences that were so popular at the time. They marketed woolen sweaters, cotton pants and, most brilliantly, logo tees and tote bags that were the must-have item for every suburban grade-school girl for over a decade. This all came about from the “Real People” marketing campaign, which featured, yes, real people in advertisements in magazines like Seventeen that would prove to be iconic.