What Is Chrome Hearts?

Chrome Hearts is not new. While the brand may be popping off in the worlds of streetwear and pop culture at the moment, it’s been around for over thirty years. And not only has it been around that long, it’s been relatively popular, or at least well-known and revered in the fashion industry since its inception. Due to its lack of online presence and the brand’s affinity for one off projects, Chrome Hearts is an anomaly in 2020 and perhaps that’s what makes it so intriguing. 

Founded in Los Angeles in 1988, Chrome Hearts quickly began working with the biggest names in music. Richard Stark, founded the brand with his wife, Laurie Lynn, and initially they created handmade biker gear. The biker look was popular with the world’s most popular rockstars at the time, leading the brand to work closely with artists of the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, and Guns n’ Roses. Since then, Chrome Hearts has blown up in the “if you know you know” crowd. In an interview with Architectural Digest in 2019, Virgil Abloh stated that Chrome Hearts was one of his three favorite brands and Bella Hadid recently worked on a few items with the brand. 

Chrome Hearts x The Rolling Stones T-shirt

The brand is as steeped in mystery as can be in the internet age and that’s an image, or a mystery, that they’ve cultivated. According to Stark, “Chrome Hearts is Chrome Hearts”. Nothing more, nothing less. He’s even gone on record with Hypebeast to say he doesn’t care what people call it, “If you have to tell somebody what you are – you aren’t.” Based on that same interview, it would seem that Chrome Hearts doesn’t consider itself strictly a jewelry store, clothing brand, or furniture company, although you’ll be able to find all of those things at a Chrome Hearts brick and mortar store depending on when you stop in.

Be it leather jackets, hats, bench presses, cars, or jewelry, Chrome Hearts is a brand that makes a lot of different pieces and does so with quality and precision. But its deep history, rockstar attitude, and all the mystery make it interesting beyond just its face value. Read on to get a few of your questions answered and learn a little bit more about what exactly Chrome Hearts is.

Chrome Hearts CH Trucker Hat

What’s up with the Chrome Hearts Hats?

The Chrome Hearts Hat is likely the most recognizable and attainable piece the brand has released to date. They’re usually trucker hats that feature sterling silver buttons on the top and a Chrome Hearts logo on the front. While the CH logo is certainly the most popular trucker hat the brand has ever released, Chrome Hearts has an even edgier version which replaces the CH with the word FUCK. Chrome Hearts also recently released a baseball cap in honor of the LA Dodgers and a collaborative hat with Bella Hadid.

Chrome Hearts x Off White

Who’s wearing CH?

It seems like everyone and their brother is wearing Chrome Hearts at this point. In the sports world, Lebron James and Odell Beckham Jr. are just two of the many high profile athletes to be seen wearing the brand. In the hip-hop world, it would seem the brand’s biggest new fan is Drake, who’s been spotted wearing custom Chrome Hearts both in public and in his music videos. The truth, though, is that celebrities have been wearing Chrome Hearts for years. Only now, with the existence of the internet and high profile mainstream personalities flaunting logos and denim, is the whole of popular culture truly catching on. 

Chrome Hearts CH Trucker Hat

What makes Chrome Hearts so special?

Chrome Hearts is a brand unlike most other brands that make their way into the mainstream spotlight. Their production model is similar to Supreme’s in that it causes head scratching in contrast to what the rest of fashion and streetwear are doing. Instead of intentionally creating small batches of product to release on a drop cycle, Chrome Hearts makes what they want, when they want, and for who they want. The brand is obscenely expensive, but it gets away with it because most of what they do is custom work anyway. Now they’ve got the culture hooked and we just cannot seem to get enough. 

Chrome Hearts x Matty Boy

Why is Chrome Hearts so expensive?

Chrome Hearts pieces cost what they do for a number of reasons. The first is that their custom items, the leathers and jewelry on which they originally built their name, are usually made as one-off items for their friends and family. The brand custom creates these pieces for their clients, making these items truly one of a kind. In a world where everyone wants to stand out and be themselves and limited editions are the new status symbol, owning a sterling silver ring or leather jacket that’s made just for you is the peak of exclusivity. Now that the brand has built its name, their products and price points reflect the high-end, luxurious essence that the brand has developed around their products. Due to the extremely limited nature of the brand’s releases, resale prices for Chrome Hearts are naturally a lot higher than retail.