Anthropologie is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

retailer operating in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and the UK that sells clothing, jewelry, home furniture, decorations, beauty products, and gifts. Anthropologie is part of URBN brands, which includes

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...

Free People Free People is an American bohemian apparel and lifestyle retail company that sells women's clothing, accessories, shoes, intimates, and swimwear. It also has a beauty and wellness category, which includes products such as cosmetics, skin, an ...

BHLDN BHLDN (Disemvoweling, disemvowelment of "beholden") is an American women's clothing retailer that specializes in Weddings in the United States, wedding Contemporary Western wedding dress, dresses, bridesmaid dresses, bridal accessories, and wedd ...

, and Terrain.

History

In 1970, former

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

roommates and later

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Wharton Business School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

classmates

Richard Hayne Richard Hayne (born May 26, 1947) is the president and CEO of Urban Outfitters, an American chain of clothing retailers. Hayne has served as chairman and president since 1976. In 2012, he became CEO following the retirement of Glen Senk. Accordin ...

and Scott Belair needed a project for an entrepreneurial class. They decided to open a retail store called

. According to some sources, Hayne's ex-wife Judy Wicks co-founded the company with him. After opening another store,

, Hayne worked the concept behind Anthropologie, aiming to sell products targeting 30 to 45-year-old women. In the autumn of 1992, Anthropologie opened its first free-standing store in a refurbished automobile shop in

Wayne, Pennsylvania Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the ...

. In 1998, the brand launched a

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

catalog. Anthropologie launched a website that same year. In 2009, Anthropologie opened its first international store in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It followed the other brands in URBN in expanding to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Also in 2009, Anthropologie opened its first Canadian outlet at the

Shops at Don Mills The Shops at Don Mills (corporately known as CF Shops at Don Mills) is a lifestyle centre-type shopping centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto. There are 72 retail stores with a total flo ...

, a shopping centre in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 2018, following an exposé of the

mohair Mohair (pronounced ) originated from the Arabic word �هيرand it is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat (not Angora wool from the fur of the Angora rabbit). Both durable and resilient, mohair is lustrous with high shee ...

industry in South Africa, Anthropologie joined other fashion retailers in banning the sale of products containing goat-derived fur. In October 2019, Urban Outfitters announced the opening of Anthropologie Home Outlet in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, which focuses only on home furnishings. In 2020, Anthropologie became a target of protests when it ignored calls from

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

to ban the sale of items made with

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

hair. In April 2021, Hillary Super stepped down as CEO of Anthropologie, and Tricia D. Smith, who had served 26 years at

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

, took over as Anthropologie’s global CEO. In 2023, the company closed a store located in Montreal, Canada, that was opened since 2012.

Collaborations

Anthropologie had partners with various artists and designers worldwide for its products. Collaborators have included

Tracy Reese Tracy Reese (born February 12, 1964) is an American fashion designer who specializes in women's ready-to-wear clothing, Fashion accessories, accessories, and home fashions such as linens. She is a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers ...

Peter Som Peter Som (born 1970) is a Chinese American fashion designer. He was creative director for Bill Blass and creative consultant for Tommy Hilfiger, where he designed the women’s wear collection, prior to founding his eponymous label. Born and r ...

Collette Dinnigan Collette Mary Ann Dinnigan (born 24 September 1965) is an Australian fashion designer. Born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand, Dinnigan moved to Australia, where she worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She opened her ow ...

, Mara Hoffman,

Liya Kebede Liya Kebede (; born 1 March 1978) is an Ethiopian-born model (person), model, maternal health advocate, clothing designer, and actress. She has appeared on the cover of ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' 20 times. Kebede has served as the World Health ...

Byron Lars Byron Lars is an American fashion designer. He began designing under his own label in 1991.Byro ...

, Ekaterina Kukhareva,

Chris Benz Chris Benz is an American fashion designer and interior decorator. He gained early recognition as a recipient of a CFDA scholarship while attending Parsons School of Design. Benz interned with Marc Jacobs in college, then worked at J.Crew, b ...

Kit Kemp Judith Kit Kemp (born 1950), is a British interior designer, and founder of Firmdale Hotels, a chain of ten hotels in London and New York. She is married to Tim Kemp. They were jointly awarded an MBE in 2012, for services to the hotel industry a ...

Vera Neumann Vera Neumann (born Vera Salaff; July 24, 1907 – June 15, 1993) was an American artist and entrepreneur best known for her boldly colored linen patterns and scarves signed "Vera" and featuring a ladybug. Early life and career Vera was the ...

, Amber Lewis, Joanna Gaines and Claire Desjardins.

References

External links

* {{Urban Outfitters , state=collapsed Companies based in Philadelphia Clothing retailers of the United States Clothing brands of the United States Retail companies established in 1992 American companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Pennsylvania