Champion Reverse Weave
The world's first hoodie - Champion
In 1934, the world's first hoodie was launched in Rochester, New York. The case involved the Feinbloom brothers and their Knickerbocker Knitting Mills company, founded in 1919.
The company developed and produced sportswear and began to cooperate with universities. In the 30s, the company's name was updated to Champion Knitting Mills Inc. and the first actual university products were produced for the University of Michigan in 1934.
In addition to T-shirts and sweatshirts, the company developed the world's first hoodie, which was born with the product development of the sweatshirt, when a hooded shirt was made for American football players to keep them warm during training, on the sidelines and during breaks.
The coaches soon noticed the problem when washing the players' sports clothes, that they wore out quickly, and also shrank easily with many washes. Champion solved the problem by developing the Reverse Weave ® technology, where the fabric of the product is cut crosswise during production. This innovation made the final product not only more durable, but also minimized the product's vertical shrinkage.
Sports teams across America began to acquire these durable sportswear made with the new technology. Champion applied for a patent for their invention in 1938 and it was granted to them in 1952.
In 2012, Champion relaunched the iconic Reverse Weave ® products, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the patent.
In our INCH" store, you can find a hand-picked selection of Champion Premium series Reverse Weave ® products .