White Stuff launches ‘Rewind ’85’ collection and campaign starring Martin Kemp, Toyah and Sinitta
To mark its 40th anniversary, White Stuff has launched an archive-inspired collection called ‘Rewind ‘85’, with a campaign starring 80s pop stars Martin Kemp, Toyah Wilcox and Sinitta.
The collection features 17 pieces brought back from the brand’s archive, including original graphic print tees and surfer style half zips, as requested by White Stuff’s customers on social media.
The 80s pop stars are featured manning the phones at the brand’s call centre in Leicester for customers to purchase their Rewind ’85 items, in what is a throwback to the hotline ordering system White Stuff had in the 80s and 90s.
The art direction features nostalgic 80s and 90s office style imagery and video, shared across White Stuff’s social channels, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok.
Additionally, led by White Stuff Brand Director, Julia Monro, a separate Rewind ’85 campaign embraces the wandering spirit of archive White Stuff catalogues and the iconic ‘Boys and Girls from White Stuff’ prints.
The in-house creative team piled into a 1993 VW California camper van (called Daisy) and drove almost the length of the UK in search of surf and snow, meeting and documenting a women’s surf collective in Cornwall and a group of ski tourers in Glenshee, Scotland, all wearing the retro collection.
The brand will use outdoor advertising across 13 locations and 139 sites in the UK from next week to showcase Rewind ’85 product on the Cornish surfers and Scottish ski tourers.
To complement the launch, 13 White Stuff stores – including in Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh - will have their windows overhauled to feature the retro campaign.
White Stuff CEO, Jo Jenkins, said: "We’ve built such a loyal customer base since White Stuff started 40 years ago, and while we’re proud to be the modern brand we are today, we never want to forget our heritage.
"Our 40th birthday felt like the perfect time to reboot the nostalgic White Stuff designs which customers remember fondly and have been asking us to bring back. Who knows, perhaps they will be here to stay."
It was in the autumn of 1985 that White Stuff founders George Treves and Sean Thomas had the idea of designing and selling t-shirts in the Alps to fund their winter ski trips, first sold from the back of an old Citroen 2CV
The Rewind ‘85 collection is available to buy via a retro hotline number (0800 193 1985) for two days. The range will then drop in stores and on the White Stuff website, with prices ranging from £30 to £65.
