Fast forward to September 22 of 2019 and Cross Colours will be making an appearance in the California African-American Museum sponsored by Gucci. There are 1,400+ professionals named "Carl Jones", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Our marketing director tells us to take a look outside of the booth - all of a sudden there’s about 80 people standing in line. Carl Jones: We recognized the fact that there was a whole new generation of fans who were toddlers when we first dropped, but they somehow connected to our brand and its message. So Cross Colours is back! We wanted something for the culture and for people that were into Hip Hop. Jones sold the company in 1985 and founded Surf Fetish, a trendy beachwear concern. TJ did all the artwork, the logos, we started to register the name. He was also a featured member of the President’s commission on the NAFTRA agreement, and was invited to speak at the White House on behalf of the fashion sportswear industry. Carl Jones: We only had three months to prepare. Coming from different backgrounds, Cross Colours founder and co-founder Carl Jones and Thomas Walker would work together to find a way of broadcasting political and social messages in a manner that would cater to Black youth and their urban fashion style. In 1989, he took inspiration from the emerging hip hop culture and started Cross Colours, the first apparel company that took urban style to the masses to the tune of $80 million in three years. Cross Colours is back. And as Drake would say, what a time to be alive! In the early 1990s, Carl Jones and TJ Walker founded an urban streetwear brand that went against the drab gangbanger workwear of the time, opened the inner-city up to positivity, and introduced baggy pants to … Carl Jones: All of sudden, all of these buyers show up. They were wearing these huge baggy pants that they belted - the pants were 38 and the kid was probably a size 30. We looked at them and thought it was interesting. In 1989, he took inspiration from the emerging hip hop culture and started Cross Colours, the first apparel company that took urban style to the masses to the tune of $80 million in three years. Walker has obtained numerous design awards including the coveted Rising Star Award (issued by the MFA - Men’s Fashion Association) and the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design. Cross Colours promotional material featuring company founders Carl Jones and TJ Walker, circa 1991. Copyright © 2016 Cross Colours. As two Black men who own a sportswear line and have a strong grasp on production and manufacturing, Cross Colours founders Carl Jones and TJ Walker are … A celebrated Digital Design instructor at OTIS Parson’s School of Design, and CAD instructor at F.I.D.M., Los Angeles (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising), Walker is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Education and Global Design Influence on Modern Culture. “So you want to be a designer?" The following article is taken from the upcoming Fall/Winter 2014 issue of The Hundreds Magazine: Cross Colours is back. TIMES STAFF WRITER Carl Jones, co-founder of Cross Colours--a hip but poorly managed urban clothing label that went out of business four years ago--is attempting a comeback. “The positive messages, the colors, coming from the street, coming from the ghetto. We treated our products like currency and factored it into our advertising costs. Carl Jones (left) and TJ Walker (right), Co-Founders of Cross Colours This is exactly what TJ Walker and partner Carl Jones did at the birth of Cross Colours in 1989, said Walker, and it’s … Carl Jones: This all started with a conversation that TJ and I had while working together for a surf brand that I owned called “Surf Fetish”. TJ Walker: I agree! Cross Colours is a public relations and communications company based out of 228 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach, California, United States. I mean there were crowds surrounding the booth! Carl Jones: Three days later I’m sitting at home watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and voilà! We sat there and rode from Harlem to Brooklyn just watching the kids and what they wore. Jones sold the company in 1985 and founded Surf Fetish, a trendy beachwear concern. We said we were going to make those pants with a size 38 body, but with a size 32 waist. Carl Jones: So by the time we get to the trade show I’d spent $300,000 of my own money to get to the trade show. We brought the whole street to the show! When designers Carl Jones and T.J. Walker launched the Cross Colours clothing line in Los Angeles in 1989, the pair had no idea it would infiltrate television and … We didn’t have a great booth location, but the booth itself was phenomenal. Kingston even got the chance to meet Cross Colours designer, TJ Walker. I think I want to design my own pair of shoes,” Kingston replied. In 1990, Walker became the first in a succession of notable African-American designers to earn global recognition for design through the introduction of the preeminent urban collection Cross Colours. Record companies started sending all of their artists to us. While the duo sought to build a brand with which young black youth could identify, they succeeded in creating a … TJ Walker: Out of that show of thousands of booths, we were the only African American company there in the show, and the only brand to bring streetwear to the show. So we both ventured off to do our own independent projects. TJ Walker: Indeed! Back then, women … Launched in 1989 by designers Carl Jones and TJ Walker, their 30 years of work is on display at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Jones sold the company in 1985 and founded Surf Fetish, a trendy beachwear concern. I’ll never forget, the booth was this corrugated metal, graffiti, we had it on castors. Trained at the Otis Parsons Art Institute, and 1992 winner of the WALTER P. CHRYSLER Award for Innovative Design, Jones founded Designers Screen Printing in 1982, providing T-shirt designs to companies such as Guess and Ocean Pacific. Carl Jones: It was jarring to think that after making such an impact not only in the fashion industry and in business, but also in communities across the country, that the business was over. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Cross’ connections and jobs at similar companies. In 1990, Carl Jones wanted to produce “clothing without prejudice.” He founded Cross Colours to create clothing based on African American hip hop culture. 7,225 records for Carl Jones. Carl went on to own another clothing brand, and I went on to teach. Jones and Walker launched Cross Colours in downtown LA in 1989. View Cross Colour’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. So from the oversized pants, of course you need the oversized jacket. Will loved everything! Carl Jones: I think the most important move we made was deciding to reach out to the Fresh Prince. Suddenly, everything was oversized. TJ Walker: Yes, and this isn’t to say that we didn’t want those men and women who were a part of gang culture to not feel represented by the brand. TJ Walker: Indeed! TJ Walker: Our biggest retail partner at the time, Merry-Go-Round, announced that they would be filing for bankruptcy. We’re talking about a business that garnered upwards of $100 million in annual sales, and now it’s just over. ... carl jones Creative Director at CROSS COLOURS The brainchild of creative geniuses Carl Jones and Thomas "TJ" Walker, Cross Colours dominated the late '80s and '90s, with their signature baggy pants, baseball caps and oversized shirts making appearances on Black cult-favorite films and TV shows like In Living Color, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Menace II Society. “ Yeah. Photo by Michael Segal Courtesy the Cross Colours Archive Los Angeles And as Drake would say, what a time to be alive! Out of all this a Los Angeles fashion label was born: Cross Colours, founded by Otis college alum Carl Jones and graphic designer TJ Walker. Carl Jones: We opted for the European spelling of the word to differentiate ourselves from a movie that was out at the time called “Colors”, which depicted inner city gang life. LA didn’t really have Hip Hop music - there was some in LA, but it was really coming from NY. That validated us without any buy-in from the buyers who, at the time, thought that our products were too afrocentric. What we wanted was for the name of the brand to stand out and embody unity. And with that bankruptcy went millions of dollars in products that we could neither receive payment for nor get back to sell on our own or through another retailer. Carl Jones: We took a trip to New York because that’s where the culture was. Nearly 25 years later, he was surprised again when the trademark he had lost so many years ago became available again. Carl Jones: We recognized the fact that there was a whole new generation of fans who were toddlers when we first dropped, but they somehow connected to our brand and its message. We played around with names and inevitably incorporated the word “colour” into the mix. It was expensive, but it was so well done. But we reunited in 2014 after getting the word that consumers were asking for our products again. We had our former marketing director reach out to the wardrobe people at the Fresh Prince, take over some of the garments, and see what would happen. TJ Walker: But doing that allowed us to insert ourselves into the entertainment industry and get our clothing on the dancers, the actors and actresses, the music artists. That’s what started it! African American-owned, founded by Carl Jones and T.J. Walker, the brand quickly skyrocketed, securing a plethora of orders across the country and breaking color barriers in the field of men’s apparel. The designers and co-owners of Cross Colours, T. J. Walker and Carl Jones decided to draw a more direct line from the street to department stores … There was a newspaper using that name, so to be safe we should change ours altogether. Carl Jones and TJ Walker founded Cross Colours back in 1989. That was when we realized we needed to find a way to bring the brand back. And that just created a snowball effect. He was on the hunt for the clothing he designed with his partner Carl Jones back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. TJ Walker: Right! For the relaunch of Cross Colours' Clotthing brand, J Hart hanged out with Carl Jones the fondator of Cross Colors. View the profiles of professionals named "Carl Jones" on LinkedIn. The company amassed record sales in excess of $80 million within its first two years of operation. Well, the reality is that Cross Colours never quite went away. It’s exactly what Influencer Marketing has become today. Founded in 1989 by Black American Carl Jones, Cross Colours was born for the Black urban customer after Jones witnessed how inner-city youth in New York City were wearing their clothes. As the brand’s founder Carl Jones described in a 2014 interview, the underlying goal was to connect with people. There’s Will wearing our product! asked Walker. Now you need the oversized shirt to go with the oversized jacket. It was really scary! By switching gears, Cross Colours (as it is commonly known) is banking on its reputation as an innovative design source, says CEO Carl Jones. Back in 1989, Carl Jones and TJ Walker launched Cross Colours, “clothes without prejudices” in Los Angeles, which became one of hip hops most loved fashion brands. Thank God for Will! Walker and his business partner Carl Jones started Cross Colours in 1989, here in Los Angeles. Copyright © 2016 Cross Colours. We both knew that this trade show was going to make us or break us, so were heads down for three months! Cross has 1 job listed on their profile. TJ Walker: We just rode the Subway. "We've been successful at developing new brands and promotion them," says Jones, who is largely credited with delivering the urban look to the masses. Find Carl Jones's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Cross Culture- that’s how the naming of the brand started. Carl Jones: TJ, being the artist that he is, put pen to paper and recreated the look. TJ Walker: Yes, but then the attorney calls us and tells us that we can’t use the name. The hugely popular brand was designed by the Los Angeles based urban apparel line Cross Colors and African American owners Carl Jones and … Baseball caps and t-shirts displayed multicultural and social messages like promoting racial unity and equality. And initially we didn’t have a lot of appointments. It was nonstop! The clothing was used to broadcast political and social messages. So Cross Colours is back! All Rights Reserved. Cross Colours was germinal: a black-owned brand from California, designed with hip-hop style in mind. There are 1,400+ professionals named "Carl Jones", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Carl Jones was caught off-guard by the meteoric success of Cross Colours when it first launched in 1989. Launched on the premise of producing “clothes without prejudices” Cross Colours helped establish a fashion market based around black youth. WALTER P. CHRYSLER Award for Innovative Design – 1992 2-time CALIFORNIA MART Design Award Winner – 1987 + 1988 CALIFORNIA MART “MARTY” Award – 1987. The meteoric ascent of Cross Colours, the streetwise clothing line developed by Carl Jones and T. J. Walker, was stunning not only for a black-owned business in a white-dominated industry; it was astonishing by any standard. By the end we had close to $20 million dollars in orders. Throughout his career, while simultaneously occupying positions as Creative Director, Design Consultant or Chief Creative Officer Walker, has continued to indulge in his first love, fine art. So TJ and I, along with our marketing director, made the decision to go with “Colours” instead to differentiate ourselves. All Rights Reserved. TJ Walker: We started to give away a ton of products. Starting 30 years ago with an apparel-manufacturing idea that would reflect the culture of an often-underrepresented community, TJ Walker and Carl Jones launched Cross Colours , the Los Angeles–based brand that relied on colorful fabrics and designs inspired by young people. Cross Colours is a clothing brand launched in 1989 by Carl Jones. Their clothing line was a testament to the carefree feeling of the 90’s. We were creating products, we were managing the marketing, overseeing sales- everything! 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