Frankly Speaking - 004         

When deciding which brand to delve into this week, one red-lipped monkey popped into my mind. In fact, he never left.

Julius the Monkey, the face of Paul Frank and Y2K Pinterest pages, has forever lingered in my subconscious. This logo even went on to inspire my first ever t-shirt design and set in motion the events I find myself in now, but before that, let’s talk a bit about Paul Frank and why we all know this cheeky monkey.

​

Like you, I knew monkey see but not what monkey do. When digging into Paul Frank, I didn’t find heaps of stories, articles or videos on the brand because, frankly, there isn’t much to it.

​

Here’s the story in very simple terms:

​

• 28-year-old Paul Frank Sunich made custom wallets in his bedroom. This caught the attention of Ryan Heuser, John Oswald got involved and the three started a business.

​

• The brand took off along the Southern Californian coast, then eastward, and then internationally. Funky stores began popping up everywhere, whilst Julius fronted the likes of Blink-182, No Doubt and Radiohead.

​

• Hello Kitty proposed a collaboration, for the first time in their history, in 2002. This led to a cascade of collaborations with the Andy Warhol estate, McDonald’s, Barbie, and countless others. Julius the Monkey became king of the jungle.

​

• Tensions within the top three led to Sunich’s departure in 2005, where the brand was later sold to Saban and Mr Paul Frank Sunich lost the operating rights to his own name (being that he didn’t set up the company alone). The brand still exists today, with Sunich involved creatively and a new Hong Kong-based company acquiring the rights in 2020. It’s alive, but barely breathing.

​

The brand’s origin story is every bedroom-creative’s dream. Toiling away at your passion, working a dead-end job, only to be ‘discovered’ and your designs become a global sensation. What exactly drove this explosion? Its ties to SoCal’s alternative, punk, and indie scenes, along with it’s roots in DIY culture, made it a lifestyle staple in the area. Soon the simple-yet-sensational monkey was everywhere.

To think Paul masterminded this growth would be bananas.

The simplicity and sticking-power of Julius, combined with Frank’s use of colour, collaborations and the era it was born into created a perfect storm - a river that carried Frank and the business into global success. After all, Hello Kitty’s Sanrio approached Paul Frank, and the popular endorsements were genuine (aka free), supportive of the brand’s aesthetic and experimentation. Those who opposed the first Hello Kitty collaboration were soon left in the dirt. The designs, aesthetics and brand values lent themselves perfectly to collaboration, binding the spirit of playfulness and edgy-fun to whatever else featured on the package. Paul Frank was one of the pioneers in the clothing and lifestyle industry to capitalise on this style of business, and who could blame them? Money see, money do.

​

Whatever goes up must come down. Sunich wasn’t a businessman, and was soon washed up ashore. Ousted from the company, no longer able to operate under his own name. Monkey business. I personally believe he hit a stroke of luck with Julius, as every artist does in some way. He rode the waters the furthest he could until the piranhas bared their teeth. I don’t think it’s a surprise that the business soon began to fall apart after his departure either. You know what they say about karma.

​

Paul Frank’s story is rooted in the turn of the century. It simply couldn’t happen in today’s world; I really wish it could. Paul Frank became a river that sprung up, swelled and dried out on it’s way to the ocean. Today, we are in the ocean. The sheer volume of designs, graphic designers and brands today make up the water around us, with everyone just trying to swim to the surface. The chances of seeing another Julius swing so effortlessly into the spotlight are next to none. Successful brands popping up today need a story, a face, a movement, that people can tie themselves to and identify with. It’s increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd, and keeping that attention (if you do happen to squeeze through) is the topic of every WeWork conference room.

​

Would Paul Frank see the same success today? I’m sadly inclined to say no. I hold the brand, like many others, in high regard through its nostalgic ties to times now passed. But in truth, Julius would get lost in the sheer amount of logos we see on a daily basis, and building a ‘brand story’ takes a lot of work; authenticity and connection built over time. This is the challenge people face today, and which is why Paul Frank’s origin story is that of modern day folklore.

​

It was only in my research that I realised why Paul Frank, or Julius, lingers in my mind. My first ever t-shirt designs, sketched in a chemistry class, were directly inspired by the brand - I didn’t realise it at the time. Kong King - genius word play. My friend bet me a fiver to make it a real thing, and I won that fiver (after spending £65 on printing the things). It was the start of a passion that has led me here to this point today, and it’s the same passion that brought Julius out of Paul Frank Sunich’s garage and into our memories of the 2000s. I hope to see it on the shelves again soon; I really do love that monkey.

​

Ivan

(13.04.25)