jacques spreiregen headquarters cleator cumbria united kingdom products headwear parent sports direct website www.kangol.com kangol is a british clothing company famous for its headwear . founded in the 1920s 1 by jewish polish 2 3 world war i veteran jacques spreiregen kangol the k from knitting 4 the ang from angora and the ol from wool produced hats for workers golfers and especially soldiers . in 1938 spreiregen who was working in london as an importer opened a factory at cleator cumbria england which he ran with his nephew joseph meisner . a second factory was opened at nearby frizington and later under the direction of spreiregen s younger nephew sylvain meisner a third factory manufacturing motorcycle helmets and seat belts in carlisle . they were the major beret suppliers to the armed forces during world war ii including famously field marshal montgomery . 3 general montgomery wearing his iconic kangol beret during and after the war kangol berets were the height of fashion . in the 1960s designers mary quant and pierre cardin worked with the company whose products graced the heads of the rich and famous including the beatles and arnold palmer and later diana princess of wales . the company also supplied uniformed organizations such as the scout association . 3 in the 1980s kangol berets entered a new phase of fashion history with their adoption by members of the hip hop community such as grandmaster flash run dmc ll cool j slick rick kangol kid of utfo and the notorious b.i.g. the brand was popularized even more by the 1991 movie new jack city . the release of more consciously stylish products in the 1990s such as the furgora angora wool mix spitfire was helped by its presence upon the head of samuel l. jackson in 1997 . 3 kevin eubanks bandleader for the tonight show with jay leno sported a kangol beret on an almost nightly basis . in 2009 eminem wore the cotton twill army cap kangol hat on his beautiful video . citation needed kangol has been owned by sports direct since 2006 when they acquired the brand from private equity fund august equity trust . licences to manufacture and sell kangol apparel have been sold to many different companies including d2 and topshop . the global rights to kangol hats have been held by american hatmakers bollman hat company since 2002 . 5 it was announced in february 2009 that bollman were reviewing their worldwide operations putting 33 jobs and the future of the kangol head office in cleator in doubt . 6 on 6 april 2009 it was announced that the original factory would be converted to a warehouse with the loss of 25 jobs . only seven employees now remain employed at the company s original site and the outlet shop will close at the end of august 2009 . however hats will continue to be made at their sites in eastern europe and the united states . 7 trivia edit samuel l jackson at san diego comiccon 2008 slick rick references kangol in his song la di da di . boogie boys 1980 s hip hop band reference kangol in their song a fly girl . the lyrics line reads girls look fly in kangols . wesley snipes as nino brown and his gang the cash money brothers wear hats by kangol throughout the movie new jack city . samuel l. jackson as ordell robbie wore a kangol back to front in the movie jackie brown . the hip hop group de la soul referenced kangol in the song fallin featuring teenage fanclub on the soundtrack of the 1993 film judgment night with the lines i knew i blew the whole fandango when the drum crew never wore a kangol . tyler james williams as chris is shown wearing a kangol hat in the show everybody hates chris in two episodes called everybody hates djs season 2 episode 17 and everybody hates gambling season 2 episode 19 . rapper dana dane tells a story of how his straw hat turns into a kangol in his song cinderfella dana dane . the movie straight outta compton features a scene where ice cube gets into a dispute with a new york rapper eventually telling him wearing a kangol don t make you ll cool j references edit corrections . the new york times . 28 march 1993 . mccormick carlo . kangol born in england raised on the streets of new york . kangol . retrieved 2013 07 08 . a b c d a beret good show 70 years of kangol . the scotsman . edinburgh . 26 november 2008 . retrieved 19 august 2015 . http blog.kangol.com tagged retrospective sports world owner sees right fit for kangol hats . the times . london . 5 december 2006 . retrieved 2009 04 06 . subscription required legg matthew 9 february 2009 . kangol jobs at risk as cleator hat factory faces closure . news and star . carlisle cumbria england . retrieved 19 august 2015 . further blow to textile industry . bbc news . 6 april 2009 . retrieved 2009 04 06 . external links edit official website official store bollman hats official site working for kangol bbc cumbria making a beret for bette davis bbc cumbria retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kangol & oldid 709397442 categories australian themed 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