River Island Used To Be Called Something Totally Different And Our Minds Are Blown

Did you know River Island used to be called something else? The history of the famous retailer has just been revealed and we legit’ had no idea.

According to the Telegraph, it all kicked off in 1948 when Bernard Lewis started selling knitting wool from a former bomb site in London. He later expanded to five different locations, and thus the brand Lewis Separates was formed.

In 1965, the company continued to grow and sell trendy female clothes, and so Lewis Separates rebranded as Chelsea Girl. Then, almost twenty years later in 1982, the first menswear store opened under the name Concept Man.

Both female and men’s lines were selling extremely well,  and so in 1991 the company decided to merge both Chelsea Girl and Concept Man to form the River Island we all know and love today.

River Island is a family run business (who knew?!) and is still privately owned by the relatives of Bernard Lewis.