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When we think of the business empires that were started in garages, images of computer whiz-kids immediately come to mind. But the trend of giant Oaks from little acorns goes back much further than this. As far as motorcycles are concerned, they don’t come much bigger than Harley Davidson and Honda, who as the pioneers of the motorcycle culture held a commonality in that their dreams were born on different sides of the globe from a dislike of bikes.
By bikes, I mean of course, the pedal variety. In 1903 William Harley and Arthur Davidson with the help of Arthurs brother, Walter, took their first steps on the road to glory in an attempt to conquer the hills of Milwaukee with a motor powered bicycle. Their first attempts failed, but by 1904 they had improved their design enough to be able to enter a race at the state fair. They came fourth, and within two years had moved from their garage to their first company factory address. The address in Chesnut Street, now Juneau Avenue, is still their corporate headquarters today.
Although separated by a generation, Soichiro Honda also began his career surrounded by bicycles. His father, a blacksmith by trade also owned a bicycle repair shop where Soichiro grew up with a fascination for all things mechanical. After a six year apprenticeship on an auto repair shop in Tokyo Soichiro returned home to set up his own auto repair shop but it was his adaption skills in adding a piston engine to a bicycle that would start him on the road to success.
By the time that The Honda motor Company was formed, the Harley Davidson Motor Company was a world leader in motorcycle production. They had supplied custom bikes to the army through two World Wars until the Jeep took over as the utility vehicle of choice. In 1952 under increasing competition , Harley Davidson applied for a 40% import tariff on foreign motorcycles. The application led to charge of restrictive practices against the company. This would be the first of a string of events that would lead the company into decline during the following decades. Through Hollywoods portrayal of the bikes in outlaw biker movies such as The Wild One in 1953 starring Marlon Brando and later, in the now cult movie, Easy Rider with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, the Harley Davidson name became synonymous with rebellion and illegality. What we view today as an integral part of what makes a Harley special, was, at the time, damaging sales of the bikes and threatening the very future of the company.
Things got worse in 1969, when the company was bought by American Machinery and Foundry. AMF attempted to streamline production resulting in a labor strike that let to the manufacture of sub-standard machines. There unreliability became a standing joke and the bikes gained nicknames such as ‘hardly driveable’ and ‘hogly ferguson’ It was from this last nickname that the riders of Harleys would later be called ‘Wild Hogs’.
It would take a group of thirteen investors to lead the recovery in the fortune of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Bought in 1981 from AMF, they implemented new manufacturing protocols and regained the reliabilty standards of the companies early models. Funnily enough though, it was the depiction of the bikes between the 50’s and 70’s that would finally give Harleys the cult status they hold today.
They say that ‘What doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger’. Well, whilst Marlon, Peter and Jack’s portrayals came close to ending this American icon, it was the cult status of the era and these films, that would endure to provide the maturing ‘baby boomers’ with their piece of nostalgia.
Harley Davidson became the custom bike to own through the nineties and its stock price soared. No longer the evil machine of rebellion, the bikes had become the symbol of a generation of achievers looking to recreate the image of their teenage heroes.
In todays 24/7 society, with Blackberrys and pagers, mobiles and handhelds, hitting the road on a Harley, with nothing but the sound of the exhaust in your ear, is the new dream, for a new generation looking to escape their 100mph lifestyle, by doing 120mph alone on the open road instead! Go Hogs!
When you think of Couture there are some names that need no explanation and epitomise the height of fashion. Coco Chanel is one of these names. When you think of the Chanel brand today , you think of the suit, the perfume, Paris, Grace Kelly, Jacky O. The name conjures images of the beautiful women who have adorned the front covers of the world’s magazines wearing designs and accessories from the famous Coco Chanel over nearly a century.
For it was in a modest milliners shop in Paris in 1910 that the designer, christened Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel began her career. Her first dress shop followed shortly afterwards in 1914. Her trademark suit launched in 1923 of short knee length skirt and box jacket was one of many trends set by Chanel in the 20’s. She was accredited with ‘the little black dress’ whose necessity in the closet of every women goes without saying. Hairstyles and handbag styles were also set by designer in pre war Paris.
In 1939 she closed her shop and it re-opened after the war in 1954. It was not long before she was once again influencing the world of fashion. In 1955 she launched the quilted shoulder bag that took the world by storm. It still remains one of the ‘classic’ handbags to own. Through the late fifties and sixties Hollywood endorsed her and stars such as Grace Kelly and First Lady Jacky Kennedy would often be seen wearing Chanel.
By her death in 1971 the house of Chanel was firmly established as the hallmark of Parisian couture and the diminutive ‘Coco’ would be revered for all time as one of the greatest influences in culture and fashion of the twentieth century.
One of the major influences that Coco Chanel made to the fashion world was the introduction of highlighting the impotance of accessories. Handbags, Perfumes and jewelery all became part of the overall couture experience. This rise led to other fashiopn houses of long standing such as Hermes rising to new heights.
Hermes was a family owned business for nearly two hundreds years founded by Thierry Hermes in 1836. Originally a saddlery company Hermes fame grew in the first half of the twentieth century on the back of accessories such as its silk scarves and handbags such as the Constance bag and the Kelly.
The Kelly Bag was, in fact first produced in the 1930’s but got its nickname much later in 1956 when the actress come wife of the monarch of Monaco was pictured wearing the bag on the cover of Life magazine. The nickname stuck and the Kelly bag was born.
Of all its bags though, the Birkin has probably retained its popularity and fame the most. Originally designed by a collaboration between the then head of Hermes, John Louis Dumas and , of course, Jane Birkin, the off the shoulder bag is still sported today by the rich and famous such as Sharon Stone, Martha Stewart and most recently Lindsay Lohan. With such a diverse spectrum of admirers the bag cannot fail to continue as one of the most sold accessory items in the world today.