Oaklandish

Oaklandish is an Oakland, California fashion line and retail business whose products express the city’s history, neighborhoods, symbols, and cultural identity. The venture began in 2000 when local artist Jeff Hull developed it as a street-art and viral-marketing project rather than as a conventional clothing company. Its early work used public-facing cultural interventions—including wheat-paste posters, a projected slide show about Oakland, an outdoor film series, and a local zine—to place positive Oakland-centered messages in urban spaces during a period of rapid development and concern about the city’s image. After operating an art gallery in Jack London Square from 2003 to 2005, Oaklandish shifted toward direct retail. The business sold its designs from a modified camper van at festivals and farmers markets before establishing a permanent downtown flagship in 2011. The reopening of the Fox Oakland Theatre in 2009 is associated with the broader downtown revitalization that helped create a stronger environment for the store. Oaklandish later expanded its physical presence with a Dimond neighborhood location in 2013 and Oakland Supply Co. in Jack London Square in 2014. The brand’s visual language draws heavily on Oakland iconography. Its logo adapts the city’s oak-tree emblem, emphasizing broad roots and a connection to place. Products have included screen-printed T-shirts, hoodies, accessories, skateboards, city-themed goods, and sports-related apparel. The company has stated that everything sold in its store is screen-printed in Oakland, reinforcing its local-production positioning. It has also produced Dubs Gear, a Golden State Warriors-related label independent of the team franchise, and developed the There There brand for designs representing cities beyond Oakland, including Philadelphia and Baltimore. Community benefit is central to Oaklandish’s operating model. Ten percent of proceeds from Oaklandish items is directed to local nonprofit community groups through the Oakland Innovators Award grant program. The flagship store has also provided free T-shirts to Oakland Unified School District students who achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. These programs complement the brand’s broader identity as a community-oriented business rather than merely a souvenir or graphic-apparel retailer. Oaklandish has collaborated with local and national partners. In 2012 it worked with Town Park, an Oakland skate park, on skateboard products. In 2015 it partnered with Adidas and basketball player Damian Lillard on a limited-edition basketball shoe. Its mobile retail history has remained an important part of the company’s story, with Fortune recognizing Oaklandish in 2016 as the 38th-fastest-growing inner-city business in the United States and highlighting the camper-based retail model. The brand’s core proposition remains Oakland pride expressed through locally produced merchandise, civic storytelling, and support for community organizations.

Oaklandish was created in 2000 by Oakland artist Jeff Hull as a cultural project intended to promote local history and civic identity. Its first incarnation was not primarily a store. Instead, Oaklandish used street art, guerrilla-style public communication, and temporary cultural programming to counter negative perceptions of Oakland and to add locally specific meaning to urban environments affected by rapid development. Early projects included wheat-paste posters, the Oakland-Love Retrospective slide show, which projected Oakland-related imagery onto downtown architecture, the Liberation Drive-In film series, and the Oakslander Lakeside Gazette zine. From 2003 through 2005, Oaklandish operated an art gallery in Jack London Square. After the gallery closed, the organization moved toward merchandise and informal retail, selling products from a modified camper van at street festivals and farmers markets. This mobile format allowed the brand to remain closely connected to Oakland’s public life while testing demand for its designs without relying initially on a conventional storefront. The reopening of the Fox Oakland Theatre in 2009 is identified as an important catalyst in the wider revival of downtown Oakland. Oaklandish subsequently opened its flagship store in Downtown Oakland in 2011. That same year, it created There There, a clothing concept intended to extend its city-pride model to other American cities. The company continued expanding its physical retail presence, opening a Dimond location in 2013 and Oakland Supply Co. in Jack London Square in 2014. Oaklandish’s retail products are closely associated with Oakland symbols and narratives. Its logo modifies Oakland’s oak-tree city emblem, using the tree’s broad roots as a visual statement about community and place. The company has described its merchandise as screen-printed in Oakland. Its range has included T-shirts, hoodies, accessories, skateboards, sports apparel, and limited-edition footwear. The brand has also sold Dubs Gear, a Golden State Warriors-related clothing label that is separate from the franchise itself. In 2015, Oaklandish worked with Adidas and Damian Lillard on a limited-edition basketball shoe, demonstrating how its local identity could be connected to broader sports and footwear collaborations. Community investment became a formal part of the business model. Oaklandish directs 10 percent of proceeds from its merchandise to local nonprofit community groups through the Oakland Innovators Award grant program. The flagship store has also given T-shirts to Oakland Unified School District students who achieve a 3.5 or higher grade-point average. These initiatives position Oaklandish as a social and cultural enterprise as well as a fashion retailer. In 2016, Fortune named Oaklandish the 38th-fastest-growing inner-city business in the United States. The recognition emphasized the company’s pioneering combination of local production, cultural branding, storefront retail, and mobile selling through campers. Oaklandish’s development therefore reflects a progression from street-art campaign to gallery, mobile merchant, and multi-location apparel retailer, while retaining its original emphasis on Oakland pride and community participation.

• 2016

  Fortune inner-city business recognition

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Fortune places Oaklandish 38th among the fastest-growing inner-city businesses in the United States.

• 2015

  Adidas and Damian Lillard footwear collaboration

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Oaklandish participates in a limited-edition basketball shoe collaboration with Adidas and Damian Lillard.

• 2014

  Oakland Supply Co. opens

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Oaklandish opens Oakland Supply Co. in Jack London Square.

• 2013

  Dimond store opens

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  The retailer expands with a store in Oakland’s Dimond neighborhood.

• 2012

  Town Park skateboard collaboration

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Oaklandish works with Town Park to produce skateboards connected to Oakland’s skate culture.

• 2011

  Downtown flagship opens

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Oaklandish opens its flagship store in Downtown Oakland and introduces the broader city-focused There There clothing line.

• 2009

  Fox Oakland Theatre reopens

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  The theater’s reopening is associated with renewed downtown Oakland activity and helps create conditions for Oaklandish’s later flagship opening.

• 2005

  Oaklandish shifts to mobile retail

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  After the gallery closes, the business sells merchandise from a modified camper van at festivals and farmers markets.

• 2003

  Gallery period begins in Jack London Square

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Oaklandish begins operating an art gallery in Jack London Square, continuing its cultural programming in a physical setting.

• 2000

  Oaklandish begins as a cultural campaign

  [1]Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org

  Jeff Hull launches Oaklandish as a street-art and viral-marketing project focused on Oakland history, culture, and civic identity.

Community-focused, locally produced apparel and lifestyle retail centered on Oakland identity and civic pride.

• Apparel · 2000

  Oaklandish apparel

  The core range consists of Oakland-themed T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, and related garments. Designs use local symbols, neighborhood references, civic slogans, and visual elements associated with Oakland. The company has stated that its merchandise is screen-printed in Oakland, supporting its local-production and place-based brand identity.

• Lifestyle goods

  Accessories

  Oaklandish sells accessories and other smaller merchandise carrying its Oakland-centered graphics. These items extend the brand beyond clothing and function as relatively accessible expressions of local affiliation and civic pride.

• Skateboarding · 2012

  Oaklandish skateboards

  Developed with Oakland skate park Town Park, the skateboard products connect Oaklandish’s graphic language with the city’s skateboarding culture and broaden the brand into hard goods.

• Multi-city apparel · 2011

  There There

  There There is a separate clothing line created to represent cities beyond Oakland. Its designs have included references to cities such as Philadelphia and Baltimore, adapting Oaklandish’s city-pride approach to a wider geographic audience.

• Sports apparel

  Dubs Gear

  Dubs Gear is a Golden State Warriors-related apparel label produced independently of the Warriors franchise. It applies Oaklandish’s local and regional identity to basketball-oriented clothing.

• Footwear collaboration · 2015

  Limited-edition Adidas basketball shoe

  This limited-edition basketball shoe was created through a 2015 collaboration involving Oaklandish, Adidas, and basketball player Damian Lillard. It represented a move from graphic apparel into high-profile collaborative footwear.

• 2000Oaklandish street-art and viral-marketing campaign

  Oakland, California

  The original Oaklandish project used wheat-paste posters, public projections, a drive-in film series, and a local zine to promote Oakland history and culture in public spaces.

  Outcome. The campaign developed into a merchandise and retail business while preserving its civic and cultural mission.

  Source
• 2000Oakland-Love Retrospective

  Oakland, California

  A slide-show project projected Oakland-related cultural content onto downtown architectural landmarks.

  Outcome. The project helped establish Oaklandish as a public cultural initiative rather than only a clothing label.

  Source
• 2000Liberation Drive-In

  Oakland, California

  Oaklandish organized an outdoor parking-lot movie series as part of its effort to bring cultural programming into underused or negatively perceived urban spaces.

  Outcome. The series contributed to the brand’s early community-oriented cultural profile.

  Source
• Oakland Innovators Award grant program

  Oakland, California

  Oaklandish directs 10 percent of proceeds from its merchandise to local nonprofit community groups through the Oakland Innovators Award grant program.

  Outcome. The program formalizes the company’s community-reinvestment model.

  Source
• Oakland Unified School District academic achievement T-shirt program

  Oakland, California

  The flagship store gives T-shirts to Oakland Unified School District students who achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher.

  Outcome. The program links Oaklandish merchandise with recognition of academic achievement among local students.

  Source

• 2015

  Release limited-edition Adidas and Damian Lillard footwearProduct launch

  Background

  The brand pursued a higher-profile sports collaboration that connected Oakland identity with basketball culture.

  Action taken

  Oaklandish collaborated with Adidas and Damian Lillard on a limited-edition basketball shoe.

  Aftermath

  The release demonstrated the brand’s ability to extend its local design language into collaborative footwear.

  Source

• 2012

  Enter skateboard products through Town ParkProduct launch

  Background

  Oaklandish’s graphics and community orientation aligned with Oakland’s skateboarding culture.

  Action taken

  The company partnered with Town Park to create skateboards.

  Aftermath

  The collaboration expanded Oaklandish beyond apparel into skate-related hard goods.

  Source

• 2011

  Open a permanent downtown flagshipStrategy

  Background

  Renewed activity in downtown Oakland following the Fox Oakland Theatre’s reopening created a stronger setting for a permanent store.

  Action taken

  Oaklandish opened its flagship location in Downtown Oakland.

  Aftermath

  The company moved from primarily mobile and project-based retail into a multi-location storefront business.

  Source

• 2011

  Launch the There There clothing lineProduct launch

  Background

  Oaklandish sought to extend its city-specific design approach beyond its home market.

  Action taken

  The company introduced There There, a clothing line representing other major American cities.

  Aftermath

  The line broadened the brand concept to markets including Philadelphia and Baltimore.

  Source

• 2005

  Move from gallery retail to mobile sellingStrategy

  Background

  After the Jack London Square gallery closed, Oaklandish needed a way to continue presenting and selling its work in Oakland.

  Action taken

  The business began using a modified camper van at street festivals and farmers markets.

  Aftermath

  The mobile format became a distinctive part of Oaklandish’s retail model and later received recognition from Fortune.

  Source

1. 1Oaklandishen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Oaklandish official websiteoaklandish.com