For readers in Britain, Eddie Bauer may not be quite a household name. The American brand, founded in 1920 by the outdoorsman of the same name, is trying to change that.
The retail and clothing brand has over 250 stores in North America, but has recently launched a push to expand in the UK and other markets. To support this expansion, the brand’s products are now available direct to British consumers via a new UK-centric website.
Eddie Bauer has also ditched their 60-year-old cursive logo and unveiled a new look, with block letters and the incorporation of a goose into the logo.
The new logo (left) and the old cursive logo (right)
The brand is known for their versatile clothing, which ranges from casual lifestyle wear to technical outdoor gear. One of the brand’s earliest innovations was the Skyliner, the first down jacket to be patented in the US in 1940. It was developed by Eddie Bauer himself after he developed hypothermia on a winter fishing trip and wanted to develop an alternative to the heavy wool garments popular at the time.
As a company, Eddie Bauer supplied clothing for various notable mountain expeditions from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, including the 1963 expedition which saw Jim Whittaker become the first American to climb Everest.
A retail store incorporating the new branding. The brand has more than 250 retail outlets in North America, selling own-branded products.
The goose has been a part of the brand’s identity since the early days, a nod to the origins of down insulation and the concepts of exploration, nature and freedom. Eddie Bauer say their new brand new logo puts the goose centre-stage “with a modern refinement to appeal to all audiences”.
On their new logo’s typeface, the brand say: “Whilst the new font is strong and modern it also has a handwritten charm to it in that each letter has an element of imperfection. Dipped corners and bowed edges give a soft and human element to the typeface.”
Products will begin to feature the new branding from autumn 2024, and it will also be rolled out across the company’s retail store network.
