About Us – Coal Headwear

COAL HEADWEAR
IS CRAFTED FOR
ADVENTURE SEEKERS.

Spot a person wearing a threadbare Coal hat and chances are, they’ll recall the exact moment they got it and can easily recount the many memories they’ve made while wearing it. Since 2002, we’ve been designing headwear to accompany style-conscious athletes, adventurers, creatives, and tastemakers on endeavors that span the globe. Our people aren’t the type to take their passions or their style lightly. Neither are we. That’s why we pour every ounce of our creative energy into each piece that gets the Coal label. Every Coal hat is built on the foundation of fit, fashion, and function. We’ve got you covered for wherever your next adventure takes you.

History

Coal set out in 2002 to redefine what a headwear brand could be. With a vision for a line of high-quality, beautifully functional headwear intended for—and inspired by—our friends and families, we blazed trail through an industry that dismissed headwear as an afterthought accessory. What started as a humble side hustle drawing from deep roots in art, skate, and snowboard culture, has evolved into a respected lifestyle brand with global reach.

Since the beginning, we’ve remained true to that original vision while discovering exciting new sources of design inspiration, evolving our product offering, and growing our Coal tribe. We’re proud that original Coal styles like the Frena, launched in 2004, have had an outsized influence on headwear trends in outdoor fashion. All these years later, we’re still doing what we love, continuing to introduce design, materials, and craftsmanship innovations to excite an ever-growing community of loyal fans.

From the beginning, the Coal tradition has always been about evolution. We’re honored to keep carrying the torch and forging connections with adventurers around the globe.

In developing a new icon we knew it needed to represent and communicate certain core values and attributes that make Coal, well, Coal: celebrating our snowsports heritage; embracing our inner adventure seeker; reflecting a purposeful, forward trajectory that’s always in the direction of the next Peak Moment. We’d need to turn these nebulous, even disparate, concepts and words into impactful visual symbolism—a special kind of alchemy at which few people truly excel. Our next logical step became immediately obvious: we’d need to bring in The Boss, the man behind the original Coal wordmark—graphic design legend Aaron Draplin.

Together with Draplin, we dove deep into the themes that have stitched our brand together since 2002. Through the countless late nights, coffee-stained notes, and passionate debates, hundreds of amazing logo concepts and variations were born. Then something bigger began to emerge—a shape that immediately felt to us new and innovative, yet at the same time, classic, like an old friend; a versatile shape that was strong enough to stand on its own, yet flexible enough to share space with others; and most importantly, a shape that’s worthy enough of companionship alongside the legendary Coal wordmark. When at long last our new icon came to fruition, we gave it a name: The Navigator.

We’re proud to introduce The Navigator, a Coal identifier which you will see throughout our new collection. This icon symbolizes a new chapter in the Coal saga and will leave no doubt that the adventure seeker whose headwear is emblazoned with it is heading in the right direction.