HUGO BOSS

HUGO BOSS AG is a German fashion house specializing in the production of clothing and shoes. It covers various branches of fashion, both male and female, with clothing, accessories, and fragrances (the latter created by Procter & Gamble), distributed through over 5700 mono-brand and multi-brand stores worldwide. Hugo Ferdinand Boss founded a textile company in 1923 in Metzingen, a town south of Stuttgart, which he named after himself. However, the business did not take off, partly due to the economic situation in Germany during the 1920s, and in 1930, he declared bankruptcy. He re-founded the company with the help of the recently joined Nazi party. He was among the creators of the SA uniform and later became the producer of SS uniforms and uniforms for the Hitler Youth. In 1945, with Germany's defeat in World War II, Hugo Boss, accused of supporting the Nazi cause, was fined and stripped of his voting rights; he died three years later. When the demand for military uniforms declined, the company began producing men's clothing in 1953, becoming a national leader in the sector and one of the most prestigious brands internationally, thanks also to the high quality of its garments. In 1985, the company went public, and the majority shares were acquired by the Marzotto Group (now Valentino Fashion Group); two years later, the Orange line was born. In 1993, the company expanded its production range, creating its first fragrance, "Hugo," from which the namesake line was born. In 2002, the Baldessarini line was launched, named after the Hugo Boss designer Werner Baldessarini. For several years, Hugo Boss was one of the main sponsors of a couple of Formula 1 teams; from 1984 to 2013 for McLaren and from 2014 to 2017 for Mercedes. Since 2018, it has sponsored Formula E cars. In 2022, it entered the world of professional tennis as the official technical sponsor of Matteo Berrettini, ranked 7th in the ATP rankings.