In 1987, Jean Touitou created a clothing line which would later become the A.P.C. brand. The clothes from this first menswear collection wear labels that only mention “HIVER 1987” This menswear collection started attracting female customers as well. The following year, the collection became unisex. It was only in 1989 that the labels referring to the seasons are replaced with A.P.C labels, confirming the creation of the brand, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
1990s
The first pieces of the A.P.C. collections were characterized by several aspects that are still constitutive of the brand's identity: minimalist designs, clean lines, and simple patterns. Logos are rarely visible, as well. Its clothing tends to incorporate the characteristics of military garments, pre-eminence of classic and unmixed fabrics, as well as voluntarily traditional cuts. The collection would later include a central addition: raw Japanese denim. One of the brand's most popular products are its raw-denimselvage jeans which are popular among denim enthusiasts. Popular denim cuts of the brand include the Petit Standard, Petit New Standard and New Standard. The fit of A.P.C. clothing derives from Touitou's distaste for the loose-fitting clothes of his contemporaries In the 90’s, the brand opened several stores internationally; for example, in TokyoDaikanyama in 1991 or on New YorkMercer Street in 1993. In 1995, the mail order catalogue was launched. It would quickly be followed by the website in 1997. These various openings and launches enabled the brand’s international development.
The brand developed and multiplied the store openings during the 2000s, in collaboration with the architect Laurent Deroo, who would later design the majority of the A.P.C. stores worldwide. In 2002, A.P.C. owned 7 stores in Japan. A new Parisian address opened rue Vieille du Temple in 2004 and in Berlin on Mulackstrasse. In 2009, A.P.C. established in London once again, at its store on Dover Street. In 2012, A.P.C. celebrated its 25th anniversary and entered a new phase of its development. In the perspective of favoring clothes sustainability, A.P.C. encourages its customers to return their used jeans to its stores for them to later be transformed as “butlers” In a similar view, remnants of fabrics are transformed into totebags that are later gifted to the customers in the shops. In 2011, the designerJessica Ogden launched alongside Jean Touitou the first collection of A.P.C. quilts, elaborated with fabric remnants as well. After the renovations by Laurent Deroo at the Rue Madame General Quarters, presentations of the collections were organized there during the fashion weeks. Stores keep opening in Europe and in the United States. In 2016, AP.C. launched the BAM BAM nights during the women’s Fashion Week. Organized 4 times a year outside of Paris, those nights aim to invite A.P.C. customers to interact with the brand differently, as they are organized with DJs and are less formal. In 2017, A.P.C. celebrated its thirtieth year of existence by publishing A.P.C. Transmission, in collaboration with Phaidon, a monography, of the brand and its founder Jean Touitou. A.P.C. also started to organize fashion shows. Since 2018, the brand is listed in the official calendar of the Fédération de laHaute Couture et de la Mode..
