Fubu

FUBU, short for For Us By Us, is an American apparel company founded in 1992 by Daymond John with partners J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin, and Carlton Brown. The brand specializes in urban streetwear and became a staple of 1990s hip-hop fashion. The concept originated with Daymond John in Queens, New York, beginning with hats and expanding to T-shirts, jerseys, and other clothing bearing the FUBU name and logo. The slogan For Us By Us reflected a focus on clothing designed for Black and urban communities and on direct engagement with its core audience.

FUBU gained prominence through ties to hip-hop culture, with artists and music videos featuring the brand and helping drive its visibility. It achieved broad distribution through specialty stores and, later, major department stores, contributing to the mainstream reach of streetwear during the decade.

In the late 1990s, FUBU reached peak mainstream recognition as a leading urban fashion label. Like many fashion brands of the era, it faced intensified competition and changing consumer preferences in the early 2000s. The company continued to operate with licensing arrangements and new product lines, while its founders pursued various entrepreneurial ventures, including Daymond John’s later work in media and business mentoring.

FUBU is widely regarded as a defining label of 1990s streetwear and as an influential example of a Black-owned fashion brand achieving broad retail exposure. Its cultural impact is linked to the mainstreaming of hip-hop aesthetics and the growth of urban fashion within the broader U.S. apparel market.