BTKA - HORNY DEVIL Front & Back print Hoodie
The Urban Fashion Legend
Born In
Camden.
Raised By Rave.
In 1990, in the back rooms of Camden's underground rave scene, a hand-drawn character named Sam The Man became the face of a movement. This is that story.
1990
Founded — Camden
09
Cult Sub-Brands
17
Years Away
Back.
For Real
Today's Story
The Return Of A Legend
In August 2005, the Have A Nice Day store in Notting Hill had a 4-week half-price closing down sale. Customers initially thought it was a relocation — the inevitable move to much-needed larger premises. When questioned by tearful teenagers, all we could say was: this was not the end of the story.
True to our word — Have A Nice Day, the urban fashion legend, after 17 years away... is now finally back.
Shop The Return →
Est.
Camden 1990
The History Of...
Anthony Cooper
Anthony Cooper admits to a checked career whilst learning his trade. Starting with Dizzy Skates in the 1980s, he took over Slick Willies — the American Sports store on Kensington High Street. It was this move that sparked his love for Americana.
Running one of London's key American stores led to being one of the first NFL licensees. A stint as an independent agent for Fruit of the Loom led to his first t-shirt brand, Shark Shirts, London–Los Angeles. Then came a pop song, a Mac recording studio called "Drink Me Studios", and a record label called 100 2 One.
Struggling to make ends meet, he accepted a proposition to revive a large second-hand clothing store in Camden — the American Rag Store. It was here, in a dark corridor leading to the toilets, that Have A Nice Day was born — as a Hanes American t-shirt concession selling plain American sportswear in all sizes and colours. Searching for an American-sounding trading name, Ant came up with the iconic... Have A Nice Day!
Founder
Anthony Cooper
The Moment It All Started
By chance, Ant had again found himself in the right place... at the right time. The Summer of Love in Camden Market — one of the go-to destinations for the exploding rave scene.
— Camden Market, 1990The Journey
From Camden
To The World.
1980s
Dizzy Skates → Slick Willies
Anthony Cooper begins his retail career, eventually taking over Slick Willies on Kensington High Street — one of London's key American sports stores. His love for Americana is ignited.
1990
Have A Nice Day Is Born
In a dark corridor of Camden's American Rag Store, a Hanes t-shirt concession becomes Have A Nice Day. The Summer of Love is in full swing. The rave scene's uniform? Brightly coloured XL American sportswear. Ant is in exactly the right place.
1991
Sam The Man Is Born
After several redraws, Ant finalises the first Have A Nice Day logo — Sam The Man. The trademark is registered. A Have A Nice Day rave track is recorded and, after a mountain of free merchandise, BMG is persuaded to release it.
1992
Into The High Street
The brand explodes. Have A Nice Day appears in Selfridges, Boots, C&A, British Home Stores, P&O Ferries. The myth of the brand grows. Who were we and where did we come from?
1993
Shurl The Girl Arrives
Following the same 50s retro theme as Sam, Shurl The Girl is born. Inspired by Marilyn Monroe, the iconic image is completed when Ant solves the lip problem by placing a big pink bubble over them — creating one of the most recognisable graphics of the decade.
1990s
The Heyday — Notting Hill
Anthony & Sheilah Cooper reign supreme from a boutique in Notting Hill Gate — "a crossroads of the world". Within 18 months of starting with £10 graphic tees at Camden Market, turnover nudges the million mark. 3 pieces in the V&A Street Style exhibition. Breaking the record for sales per linear foot in the Topshop flagship store.
2005
The Closing Down Sale
The Notting Hill store closes. Tearful teenagers ask if it's the end. The answer: "This is not the end of the story."
2022+
The Return
After 17 years, Have A Nice Day is back. Not as nostalgia — as continuation. Same characters. Same family of cult sub-brands. Now printed on heavyweight organic cotton, in the UK, by the people who started it.
The Family — 09 Sub-Brands
One HAND HQ. 9 Identities.
Have A Nice Day was always more than one logo. Each sub-brand is its own world — born out of music, scene, and 30+ years of underground London.
Browse All Brands →
01 / Flagship
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09
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Have A Nice Day
Sam The Man · Shurl The Girl
Dready OG
Roots · Reggae · Camden
Handspun Records
Vinyl · Sound · Wax
BTKA
Punk Rocks · Sleazy Rider
Vortex
Info The Robot · Close Encounter
Funky Dog
Atomic Dog · Mongrel Soup
Don't Do The Dodo
Professor Watercooler · Crest
Incubator
Divergent · Outside The Box
Sista
Script · Silhouette · Slip Mats
The Shape Of Things To Come
Fashion Is A
Zeitgeist.
Triumph, tunes and t-shirts are the shape of things to come. Fashion is not restricted to just clothing — it's a multi-faceted snapshot, stretching from tee shirts to toothbrushes, an ever-changing vibration that manifests through a rotating colour palette with corresponding musical rhythms.
Have A Nice Day plans to use its brands to help manage social change — in what we buy and how we buy it. Working towards restoring some sort of sense and balance to the madness of our current way of living.
Using our multi-denominational beliefs as a benchmark and code of doing business — working as multimedia partners with anyone interested in working with us. Our integrity is as important as our products, which are now being designed to gently guide you into a more conscious consumption, to tread as lightly as possible, with the final goal of "A sustainable and harmonious coexistence with planet Earth."
Shop The Collection →
100%
Organic Cotton
UK
Printed Every Piece
3
V&A Street Style Pieces
£1M
Turnover In 18 Months
09
Cult Sub-Brands
30+
Years Of Culture
