Chris Gibbs the current owner of Union worked for Mary Ann at the NYC Union starting in 96. He later moved to Los Angeles in 2003 where he worked for Eddie Cruz at both Undefeated and Union Los Angeles before eventually taking ownership of Union Los Angeles in 2010.

We have chosen the Los Angeles' store opening of 91' as the starting year because that is the Store that Chris ended up actually owning as the NYC store has remained closed since 2010. Union has a robust and complex history but the main thing it's known for is that it was the first “streetwear” store in the world. In fact long before “streetwear” was the multi billion dollar industry it is now or even before it was an actual term. Union was the only place you could go to find the original brands from this yet to be established genre of fashion. In the early days Union was a place where young up and coming designers could come to showcase their designs, having no other outlet to do so. This was before Instagram, Facebook and really e-commerce even existed, so it was all word of mouth and if you knew, you knew, and if you didn’t well…you were assed out. As the store grew in stature we started forming a “silk road” with Japan that still exists today. Union started sharing resources and fashion sensibilities and Eddie formed a friendship with Hiroshi Fujiwara. It was Hiroshi who introduced Union to many of the new Japanese designers and through his guidance, Union became one of the first stores outside of Japan to start importing and selling the early Urahara brands from Japan; A Bathing Ape, Neighborhood, Wtaps, etc. Union later on added many more brands like Visvim, Wacko Maria etc.

So up and until Chris Gibbs took the helms, Union was still the foremost, quintessential and archetypical streetwear boutique in the world now selling American streetwear as well as Japanese Urahara brands. In 2010 Chris saw a new emerging market and wanted to share this with his customers. Chris saw the natural progression and evolution of streetwear happening right in from of him. What stated as a store that sold American streetwear; t-shirts, hoodies, etc. Union later went on to start adding Japanese brands like Neighborhood, Undercover and Visvim. It was these Japanese brands and their high quality, attention to detail and higher price points, that helped Chris realize there were no more boundaries.

Union started mixing in the European high fashion brands that gave Union a high/low mix that was pioneering in the fashion industry and has been followed by boutiques and fashion trends around the world and back. Today Union offers a robust, comprehensive and diverse mix of the best mens fashion brands on the planet!