Theory is the name of a New York-based fashion label with over 200 retail locations. The company founded in late 1997 offers men’s and women’s clothes and accessories. The first collection of the brand was created by the CEO Andrew Rosen in collaboration with the famous designer Elie Tahari.
Although Theory has items to offer to the whole family, the style of the brand is not for everyone. Theory is all about minimalism and edgy garments, so only those with really good taste and progressive thinking can truly value what the designers of this label create.
The embodiment of intelligent modern urban style, where there is no place for exaggeration and over decorating, — this is the main idea of Theory as a fashion brand.
Classic suits, basic tops, perfect white shirts, loose silhouette dresses, and roomy bags of universal forms are important components of the brand’s assortment and any closet. The brand is all about clean shapes and simplicity, which is perfectly executed, hence looks chick and fancy.
Although the brand was established in the early 1990s, it took its founders some time to introduce the original collection. The first Theory garments had their way on the New York runways only in 1997, and the men’s collection was created two years later, in 1999.
One year after the launch of the men’s fashion line, the brand was acquired by the large Japanese textile holding Link International, although Andrew Rosen was kept as the creative director of Theory until 2010 when his place was taken by Olivier Theyskens, who left Nina Ricci fashion house for the new opportunity. It took the new creative director just a few months for the launch of the collection, which has become iconic — Theyken’s Theory.
What is Theory?
Theory is the modern fashion brand, which was established in the USA at the beginning of the 1990s, and launched its first women’s collection in 1997. Today the brand offers not kinky fashion items for women, but also men, along with a line of bags, footwear, and accessories.
In terms of visual identity, Theory is extremely simple and clear, although the boldness of the lines in its logotype and the stability of its letters — are what make the badge look solid and modern.
The original logo of the Theory fashion brand, introduced in 1997, features a lightweight lowercase lettering, written in an elegant yet modern serif typeface, in black bars against a transparent background. The simplicity and sophistication of the badge make up a perfect representation of the brand’s style and its design fundamentals, which include interesting silhouettes and high-quality fabrics.
The Theory logo is utterly simple. The wordmark features the name of the brand in a contemporary sans serif typeface. In most cases, the width of the line forming the glyphs is the same, although you can notice a couple of variations, which add an elegant touch.
Only the initial letter is capitalized, which is a rare approach in the logo design (one of the few other examples include the Clarks logo).
The bold yet minimalistic title case lettering from the primary logo of the Theory brand is executed in a geometric sans-serif typeface, which looks quite similar to such well-known fonts as Neue Helveticareg Paneuropean, Sequel 100 Wide, and Soliden.
As for the color palette of the Theory visual identity, it repeats the choice of many other reputable fashion brands — black and white. The primary version of the logo features a black lettering on a white background, but for some collections the labels and packaging of the brand’s garments turn black, while the logotype is written in white.