Mambo Graphics (also, 100% Mambo; and marketed as Mambo) is an Australian clothing brand specialises in

swimwear A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types and styles may be worn ...

wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on the water. ...

casual wear Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasisi ...

apparel and surfing accessories. Mambo was launched in 1984 by Australian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and founder of

Phantom Records Phantom Records was an Australian record store and independent record label established in 1978 on Pitt Street in Sydney. Phantom Records was one of Australia's first indie labels, and the store was known for its guerilla marketing strategies. ...

, Dare Jennings along with his business partner, Andrew Rich. The headquarters are located in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Mambo is available in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In 2011, the retail company expanded its market into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, later establishing stores across 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 ...

. The first pair of

board shorts Boardshorts are a type of swimwear and casual wear in the form of long (approximately knee length) loose-fitting shorts that are designed to be quick-drying and are generally made from strong and smooth polyester or nylon material. Originally kn ...

were created by British fashion designer,

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

. Peter Pilotto and other designers inspired the female wetsuits. On 6 January 2015, Mambo was acquired by the

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 ...

brand management and production company,

Saban Brands Saban Brands was an American brand management and production company and a defunct subsidiary of Saban Capital Group based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Israeli American media mogul Haim Saban as a successor to an earlier company he co-f ...

. Four years later, Mambo returned to Australian ownership when it was acquired by Caprice Australia in July 2019.

History

Early days

In the early 1970s, Dare Jennings owned a large and successful screen printing business, Phantom Textile Printers, producing t-shirt and fabric prints for a variety of commercial clients. He also owned an independent record label,

. Mambo began life as an "after-hours" project in the Phantom art room. The graphics were initially created by in-house artists such as musician

Jodi Phillis Jodi Christine Phillis (born 11 April 1965 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and founding member of the band The Clouds. Phillis is best known for her vocal ability in many of her songs, such as "Hieronymus", ...

, and by freelance artist, Richard Allan whose first t-shirt graphics, 'Real Wrestlers, Real Wrestling' and 'Call Of The Wild (Farting Dog)' were the best-sellers. '100% Mambo' clothing was often available in surf / skate shops in the mid- to late 1980s in the UK. As skateboarders wore much surfer-inspired clothing, Mambo board shorts in loud / Hawaiian patterns were worn by skaters. Other similar surf / skate brands around at the time were

Stüssy Stüssy () is an American Privately held company, privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and ...

, Life's A Beach and

Vision Street Wear Vision Street Wear is an American clothing, skateboarding and BMX brand. Started in 1976 by Brad Dorfman, the company sponsored early skateboarding greats such as Mark 'Gator' Rogowski, and Mark Gonzales. Although Vision is mostly known for its ...

. As this was long before skate culture became mainstream (e.g. skate shops often only sold

Vans Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and ...

, Vision or

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

shoes), these were usually niche products. Allan's arrival at Mambo was followed by other Australian and overseas artists, including

Reg Mombassa Christopher O'Doherty, also known by the pseudonym Reg Mombassa, is a New Zealand-born Australian artist and musician. He is a founding member of the band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty). Ea ...

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

(US) and Ben Frost.

Development

In 1994, the first Mambo 'Loud Shirt' was released. The design was influenced by the famous Hawaiian 'Aloha' shirt. It was called 'Blue Hawaii' by

Martin Plaza Martin Edward Murphy (born 23 December 1955), commonly known by the pseudonym Martin Plaza, is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and visual artist who is a founding member and vocalist and guitarist of the new wave band Mental As Anythin ...

(a bandmate of

). This shirt became one of Mambo's best-sellers and started the Mambo 'Loud Shirt' style. Mambo opened its first store in 1995. Located in the

suburb of

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, it was called the 'Mambo Friendship Store'. Stores opened in other Australian cities and in the UK,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

. By 2001, Mambo had opened 25 independent retail stores . In 2000 Mambo received an invitation from the

Australian Wool Board The Australian Wool Board was an Australian Government statutory board that existed in its first phase between May 1936 and January 1945; in its second phase between June 1945 and June 1953; and in its third and final phase, between May 1963 and ...

to design the athlete's uniform for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. After the Summer Olympic Games, Jennings was approached by

Gazal Corporation Gazal Corporation Limited was an Australian branded clothing company that was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The company was based in Banksmeadow, New South Wales. Its main business areas were men's, ladies' and children's clothing ...

to buy the brand. Jennings sold the company in March of that year and took over the role of creative director. Jennings left the company in 2002 and later went on to create the surf and moto-inspired brand ''

Deus Ex Machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

''. In 2006, Principle (an Australian research company) named Mambo "Australia's sixth-most-authentic brand" alongside Bonds,

Speedo Speedo International Limited is an Australian-British distributor of Swimsuit, swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England. Founded in Sydney, Australia in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the company is n ...

, R. M. Williams and

Billabong In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...

. In 2008 Mambo was sold to The Nervous Investor Group, an Australian-based consortium headed by Angus Kingsmill and based in the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly. In 2015 Mambo was sold to US clothing group

. In 2012, Mambo entered into partnerships with key players in the US and Brazil with plans to introduce the brand on a large scale in each country. In July 2019, Mambo was acquired by 60-year-old family-run brand Caprice Australia, bringing ownership of the Mambo brand to Australia.

References

External links

* {{Sports equipment brands Australian brands Clothing companies of Australia Surfwear brands Snowboarding companies Skateboarding companies Swimwear manufacturers Clothing retailers of Australia Companies based in Sydney Design companies established in 1984 Australian companies established in 1984 Kick scooters

History

Early days

Development

See also

References

External links