6 Old-School Companies That Are Suddenly Trendy Again

Retro New Balance and Polaroid Camera

Cheapism / u/lamo6701/Reddit / u/Tomthebard/Reddit

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Retro New Balance and Polaroid Camera
Cheapism / u/lamo6701/Reddit / u/Tomthebard/Reddit

Back in Style

Who knows how and why things become trendy again, but certain brands seem to last forever. Sometimes those brands take a journey nobody saw coming, and wind up far trendier than they, or anyone else, ever expected them to be.


From Marvel to New Balance, take a look at these six old-school companies that have suddenly become cool again.

Polaroid camera
Wilder Shaw / Cheapism

1. Polaroid

Founded: 1937


Poloroid’s gone through some ups and downs, with tech that was once incredible, and then obsolete. Today, people appreciate it for what it is: a really fun novelty. Boasting the same, sepia-washed, 70s aesthetic that we love at the same time as a USB-C slot, Polaroid has kept itself alive in a way most disposable cameras haven’t.



New Balance Shoes
newbalanceusa/facebook.com
Carhartt Knit Cuffed Beanie Dark Brown Sandstone
Amazon
Champion Kids Hoodie
Amazon

4. Champion

Founded: 1919


I was wearing Champion in elementary school. Not because it was cool, but because you could fish a bunch of sweatshirts off of the big, flat Costco table for an incredibly cheap price. To see what Champion has become today, a brand at the center of all hypebeast-esque trendiness, is wild.


Related: 9 Clothing Brands That Are Guaranteed to Last, According to Redditors

Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch by Choo Yut Shing (CC BY-NC-SA)

5. Abercrombie & Fitch

Founded: 1892


The first time I ever walked into an Abercrombie & Fitch, I knew I didn’t want to buy anything. But that’s what all the cool kids in middle and high school were wearing, so I forced myself to buy some uncomfortable jeans. Its appeal died amongst my generation shortly thereafter.


After a long time of being associated with the early 2000s, Abercrombie is back in full force, with search growing and growing over the years. Millennials have reclaimed their first love. 


Related: 13 Dead Fashion Brands We Miss

Spiderman balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
JON LEVY / Getty

6. Marvel Comics

Founded: 1939


This is perhaps the ultimate case of something you’d have gotten teased for liking as a kid becoming trendy. Marvel has done something unprecedented with its shared, canonical universe, and now everybody wants a piece of it. 


22 years ago, I was pretending I hadn’t seen “Spider-Man” yet when I had actually seen it twice. I was very cool. Today, there’s nary a soul alive who won’t flock to the theater to catch the newest Spidey joint. Most people see these movies. Times change.