Gio-Goi
 | |
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1988, relaunched in 2005 |
| Headquarters | Manchester, UK |
Number of employees | 50 |
| Website |
www |
Gio-Goi (/ˈɡiːoʊ
With the slogan "dedicated to those dodgin' the rain and bullets", the name was made up from a mix of Korean and Vietnamese language with the original font and logo designed by Mat and Pat Carroll of Central Station Design.
Clothes had always been Chris & Anthony Donnelly’s ‘thing’ since being involved in the early football casuals scene. Chris & Anthony Donnelly engaged in the Acid House scene and joined ranks with London promoter “Sunrise's” Tony Colston-Hayter and began organising some of the biggest and since unrivalled raves the North and South had ever witnessed.
Manchester’s first illegal warehouse parties took place and included celebrity witnesses including Noel Gallagher, members of The Stone Roses, Mike Pickering, The Smiths and New Order (to name a few).
The brothers had soon acquired a status for throwing the best parties in the UK, their notoriety catching the unwanted attention of the national authorities. Parliament held an emergency meeting to pass a new bill in which MP’s travelled to London and named the Donnelly’s personally as being a menace to society and the main organisers behind this revolution they called Acid House.
Looking for another direction to vent their passion, a decision was made that they would form a brand that epitomised their experiences and their attitudes and ultimately them.
The British brand didn’t gain momentum until the Donnelly’s merged their history in the music scene and their passion for clothes and decided to sell the line in nightclubs around Manchester.
The brothers burst onto the fashion stage in London and Paris taking an entourage of friends along with them, causing mayhem along the way. It was more like a rock and roll band as opposed to a rock and roll brand. Vivienne Westwood was even believed Anthony and Christopher Donnelly were fashion and music ambassadors for the new generation.
The Donnelly brothers came into litigation issues with Giorgio Armani over the brand name. The outcome of which was that the Donnelly brothers were able to continue using the Gio-Goi brand name after being awarded a settlement outside of court.
In 2005 the brand was resurrected after new financial backers were keen to revive the brand and in 2006 Pete Doherty collaborated and pushed designs further into the limelight. Still making that link between music and fashion, the boys have a new generation of rock and roll celebrities wearing their products including Wu Tang Clan, Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, Rihanna, and Idris Elba to name but a few.
In 2010, Gio Goi opened their first ever high street store in Union Square, Aberdeen, and in 2012 the brothers who created Gio Goi sold the brand to JD Sports before purchasing it back from them in December 2016.
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