Hooligans Kids Clothing from South Africa was founded in 1996 after designer Adri Jeffers had naughty little twins. She called them her “little hooligans” and started making up some clothes for them in the factory that, at that time, specialized in traditional African clothing. This later developed into a full range of Animal-themed prints on durable twills and knits.
What do you get when you combine a Textile designer, a Hairdresser and an aspiring Electrical engineer that electrocutes himself installing Christmas tree lights?
About Hooligans Kids Collection
The Hooligan story began with a young student printing T-shirts with offbeat and creative designs to supplement her income. Years later Nina and Wayne, who have a solid background in leadership and manufacturing, started printing fabrics needed to make up these wonderfully creative garments Adri designed.
Here at Hoolies, we have a soapbox about children’s clothing manufactured in China, BY CHILDREN! While costs might be much lower, we simply will not succumb to the lure of cheap stuff to raise our profit margins. All production is done by the Wildlife co-operative in Durban, South Africa. They have a say in our final selling price and a portion of each sale goes to the Wildlife Education Trust which was set up to assist their children to further their education.
As consumers tired of unethically mass-produced children’s clothing, the small business supplying retail stores in South Africa, quickly grew into a brand with worldwide distribution
Since I published this article, Hooligan has discontinued its children’s clothing brand. Discover more of my favorite children’s fashion from South Africa including Naartjie Kids.