Members Only
Encyclopedia
Members Only is a brand of clothing that became popular in the 1980s with the Members Only jacket. The brand was created in 1975 and introduced to American markets in 1979 by Europe Craft Imports (later acquired in 1987 by the Marcade Group, which was renamed Aris Industries in 1993).
Members Only was renowned for their brand of jackets, which were first introduced in 1981 and manufactured in a wide variety of colors. The jackets have passants
. Their advertising
tagline
was "when you put it on, something happens".
The brand was licensed in 2004 by Kirtie Regan after the bankruptcy of Aris Industries, who resurrected it and developed a new line of apparel. At first, the brand was strictly for females with their tighter fitting bomber jackets. The brand even went further than making jackets introducing a skinny jean line. A website was created in 2008 and showed the latest celebrities wearing Members Only and a shop to show off the label's latest designs. The site mysteriously disappeared, but it was announced on the brand's Facebook page that a new website is in the works.
Currently, Jaggi Singh is the President of Members only.
Currently, the jacket company is still making new designs.
Members Only was renowned for their brand of jackets, which were first introduced in 1981 and manufactured in a wide variety of colors. The jackets have passants
Shoulder strap
A shoulder strap is a strap over a shoulder. They are often affixed to women's dresses to support its weight or as part of its style. The term is also applied to carrying bags and to epaulettes.-Carrier shoulder strap:...
. Their advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
was "when you put it on, something happens".
The brand was licensed in 2004 by Kirtie Regan after the bankruptcy of Aris Industries, who resurrected it and developed a new line of apparel. At first, the brand was strictly for females with their tighter fitting bomber jackets. The brand even went further than making jackets introducing a skinny jean line. A website was created in 2008 and showed the latest celebrities wearing Members Only and a shop to show off the label's latest designs. The site mysteriously disappeared, but it was announced on the brand's Facebook page that a new website is in the works.
Currently, Jaggi Singh is the President of Members only.
Currently, the jacket company is still making new designs.
Depiction in popular culture
- In 1982, Anthony GearyAnthony GearyAnthony Geary is an American actor. He has starred on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital as Luke Spencer from 1978 to 1984 and from 1993 to present.-Life and career:...
, who played the character Luke SpencerLuke SpencerLucas "Luke" Lorenzo Spencer, Sr. is a fictional character in the American television soap opera General Hospital, and has been played by Anthony Geary since 1978.-Early years :...
on the long-running soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, appeared in a Members Only jacket commercial. - In the track "Nuthin' to Do" by Common off of the 1994 album ResurrectionResurrection (Common album)Resurrection is the second album by American rapper Common . Released in 1994 , the album received a great deal of critical acclaim, but not a significant amount of mainstream attention. Resurrection was entirely produced by No I.D. , and Ynot...
, Common states, "I thought I was cool, with my Members Only and a bowl fade". - Sheryl CrowSheryl CrowSheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
has a song called "Members Only" on her album The Globe SessionsThe Globe SessionsThe Globe Sessions is the third studio album by American singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow, released in 1998 . It was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Best Engineered Non-Classical Album at the 1999 Grammys, winning the latter two awards...
, wherein a character wears a jacket and is decidedly "stuck in the 80s." - "Members Only" is the title of episode 6.1x6 of the The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, which refers simultaneously to membership in the mafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and to the Members Only jacket worn by Soprano crime family member, Eugene Pontecorvo. The episode first aired March 12, 2006. - In The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
finale episode, "Made in AmericaMade in America (The Sopranos)"Made in America" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and the series finale. It is the eighty-sixth overall episode of the series and the ninth episode of the second part of the sixth season, which was broadcast in two batches with a break...
(6.2x21), the man who enters the diner where Tony SopranoTony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
and his family are meeting for dinner, and who intermittently stares at Tony, is wearing a gray cloth Members Only jacket identical to the one worn by Eugene Pontecorvo in the "Members Only" episode. Additionally, Tony's son, A.J. is wearing a black leather Members Only jacket in that scene. The episode first aired June 10, 2007. - In the television series Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, the character of Rosario Salazar usually wears a Members Only Jacket. - In the beginning of Death Wish IIDeath Wish IIDeath Wish II is a 1982 sequel to the 1974 film. It stars Charles Bronson, was written by David Engelbach and directed by Michael Winner....
, made in 1982, Charles Bronson is wearing a cream Members Only Jacket. - In National Lampoon's VacationNational Lampoon's VacationVacation, sometimes referred as National Lampoon's Vacation, is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall...
, made in 1983, Chevy Chase wears a Members Only Jacket in various parts of the film. - In the popular TV series GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
the character Kurt wears a red-orange Members Only jacket in an episode of season two. - In Zoolander, Derek Zoolander, and Hansel have a walk off in an old Members Only warehouse.
- In a January 2011 episode of Top Gear USA, a black LexusLexusis the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
is sold to an audience member for the Members Only jacket on his back and $1. - In the 2001 film Shallow HalShallow HalShallow Hal is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. It was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain.- Plot :Hal Larson is a...
, the character Mauricio (Jason Alexander) wears a Members Only jacket. The character Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow) remarks, "So, what are you, like the last member?" - In 2006, Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
who plays the character of Chris GardnerChris GardnerChristopher Paul Gardner is an American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr...
stages several scenes where he displays a gray Members Only Jacket in the movie of Pursuit of Happyness. - Matt SaracenMatt SaracenMatthew "Matt" Saracen is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV television drama series Friday Night Lights portrayed by the actor Zach Gilford...
wears a Members Only jacket on his first date with Julie Taylor in the season one episode "Full Hearts" of Friday Night Lights (TV series)Friday Night Lights (TV series)Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
. - In 2011, Chris Brown wears a Members Only Jacket in his "My Last-Remix" Video
- In 2011 Members Only made a exclusive tour jacket for Greyson Chance and Cody Simpson on the Waiting 4 U tour,
- In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
, with Will Farrell, his dad wears numerous Members Only jackets. - In 2011, KFIKFIKFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
radio hosts Tim Conway, Jr. and Douglas Steckler had a months-long on-air argument over whether a Steckler's jacket, which a dry cleaner ruined, was a Member's Only. The exchange ended with the show's sponsor presenting Steckler with a replacement Member's Only jacket.
External links
- Official Website: Members Only
- Official Facebook Page
- Like Totally 80s: Members Only Jackets