1849:

The New York Kickerbockers- a sports club- was one of the first sports teams to wear a baseball uniform. They rocked straw hats instead of the modern snapbacks we know today.

1858:

The Brooklyn Excelsiors baseball team wore a hats that featured a round crown with a short brim. This was an ancestor of the modern baseball cap/snapback. Baseball teams across the country start wearing hats like the one pictured below.

1930s:

Baseball started becoming a more popular sport. Recognizing an oppurtunity, a few entrepreneurs decided to start a baseball hat company called New Era. They created an 8-panel shaped hat known as The Gatsby. It had a shorter brim than previous baseball hats. In 1934, New Era designed baseball caps for the Cleveland Indians.

1950s:

New Era caps started spreading to the rest of the MLB. The Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers all started wearing New Era hats.

1954:

New Era transformed their 8-panel hat into a 6-panel hat. This is the coveted modern-day snapback.

1978:

New Era was featured in an issue of Sports Magazine. Baseball culture started spreading throughout the country and every day people started wearing baseball caps.

1980s:

Hip Hop rose to popularity. Artists like Run-D.M.C. started wearing snapbacks.

1990s:

TV shows such as Fresh Prince of Bel Air showcased snapback culture. Major Hip Hop artists of the time increased the popularity of snapback hats. New Era signed a major deal with MLB, and snapbacks and baseball caps became a part of everyday American culture.

2004:

Supreme opened a store in LA. Skaters were seen wearing 5-panel hats.

2011:

Tyler the Creator dropped the video for his song, "Bastard," which featured him wearing a Supreme 5-panel cap. Skater culture's presence in Hip Hop increased and more people started wearing 5-panels caps.

2013 The birth of Qilo:

A few college kids noticed the growing popularity of 5-panel caps and decided to start a hat brand of their own. It was winter in the northeast, and these college kids were freezing. They tried to imagine something that would keep them warm, and an image of a pineapple came to mind.

This was the start of something huge. Immediately they thought- pineapple hats.

The birth of the pineapple Print 5-panel sparked a huge buzz. within a few months of launching, Complex magazine wrote about Qilo as one of the "coolest brands [they] found on Instagram." Fast forward to 2020, with a full line of black multicam jackets, we’ve been helping more people find their voice then ever.

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