New Era Fashion story

German immigrant Ehrhardt Koch, 37 and a skilled craftsman, saw an opportunity to redesign the process used and the quality of “fashion” headwear. In 1920, his dream came true when he borrowed money from his sister, Rose, to start New Era Cap Co. His expertise and open-mindedness led to the company producing 60,000 Gatsby-style caps in the first year.

By 1950, New Era was the only independent cap maker supplying caps to big league baseball teams. Its impressive roster of clients included many of the 16 teams at the time like the Brooklyn Dodgers®, Cincinnati Reds®, Cleveland Indians® and Detroit Tigers®. In 1954, Harold designed New Era’s fitted 59FIFTY style cap, giving it a more contemporary look.