Coogi is a fashion label from Melbourne, Australia that is well-known for its colorful knit designs. The company was founded in 1969 as Cuggi but it was renamed to ‘Coogi’ in 1987 to sound more Australian.
Coogi is known for its expensive prices and it was popularized in the United States by hip-hop and rap artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Lil Boosie, Riff Raff, and OJ da Juiceman. In the U.S., Coogi became know as urban hip-hop wear. It is often said that this was the brand of sweaters worn by Bill Cosby in The Cosby Show, though, this is not true. The company expanded its products to include cosmetics and toiletries, leather, furniture, textiles and toys.
Coogi was purchased as a U.S. joint venture in 2002 by an investment group led by Norman Weisfeld, Jimmy Khezri, and Bruce Weisfeld and became Coogi Partners LLC.
In 2003, Coogi unveiled five new lines: Coogi Luxe, Coogi Collection, Coogi Authentic, Coogi CLL, and Coogi Australia. Jeans and bottoms start at $US300 and sweaters range from $600 to $1200.