Hugo Boss (fashion designer)

Hugo Ferdinand Boss (8 July 1885 – 9 August 1948) was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.

Early life

Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.

Support of Nazism

Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before Hitler came to power. By the third quarter of 1932, the all-black SS uniform (to replace the SA brown shirts) was designed by SS-Oberführer Prof. Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck (graphic designer). Lumsden, Robin. A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS, Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. 2001, p 53. Hugo Boss company produced these black uniforms along with the brown SA shirts and the black-and-brown uniforms of the Hitler Youth. White, Constance C. R. "Patterns: Dealing with Hugo Boss's Nazi tie." The New York Times 19 August 1997: A20. Some workers are acknowledged to have been French and Polish prisoners of war forced into labour.

After World War II, Boss was fined for his support of Nazism and was not allowed to vote<ref...
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