Early years The company that eventually became Lee Cooper was established in 1908 by Morris Cooper and a friend, Louis Maister, after they arrived in London from their hometown in
Lithuania (then part of the
Russian Empire), having previously spent some time in South Africa. Operating under the name M. Cooper (Overalls) Ltd, from premises on Middlesex Street (aka Petitcoat Lane) in London's
East End and centre of the garment industry/rag trade, they began production of workwear, having identified a market for it in South Africa. During the years of the
First World War, M. Cooper (Overalls), which by then employed over 600 people, halted production of workwear and began making uniforms, kit bags and rucksacks for the
British Army. In 1937, a new factory dedicated to the manufacture of denim was opened in Stratford, with the business reporting a profit of £1,000 by year end. The outbreak of the
Second World War in 1939 led Morris Cooper to split the business into two: one arm continued making workwear, while the other concentrated on producing military uniforms, battle fatigues and flight overalls. M. Cooper (Overalls) eventually became one of the biggest suppliers to the
British Armed Forces.
Post-war Morris Cooper died in 1940 and his son, Harold Cooper, took over the business upon his return from active service in the
RAF. He set about modernising the company and building on its wartime success, switching focus to casual wear and denim production, and taking advantage of the introduction of clothes rationing to increase competitiveness. Lee Cooper jeans were adopted by the youth counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s and Harold capitalised on this association by sponsoring a
Rolling Stones tour and working with
Serge Gainsbourg and
Jane Birkin. The company caused a degree of moral outrage in 1953 by introducing the zip-front to women's jeans and commissioned a series of bold publicity campaigns, some of them incorporating fictitious designers such as the Italian 'Alfredo Angelous' in order to appeal to subcultures such as the
Mods, who favoured continental style. In 2013,
Iconix Brand Group acquired Lee Cooper from
Sun Capital Partners.
Pimkie, a woman's fashion chain based in France, decided to sell to three different companies in October of 2022: Lee Cooper to specialize in jeans and denim, a sock manufacturer named Kindy, and a textile supplier in Turkey named Ibisler Tekstil. Lee Cooper France would hold the largest share in the company over Kindy and Ibisler Tekstil. ==References==