history.hottopic.comThe History of Hot Topic

We seriously made history. Scroll thru our timeline now to see how we did it. Home 80s 1989 90s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 00s 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 10s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 SHOP HOT TOPIC #HT25 OCTOBER, 1989 // Hot Topic was born in a Southern California garage. 02 Images NOVEMBER, 1989 // First store opens in Montclair, CA – and we move our headquarters into the store’s backroom. 10 Images 1989 // Skulls, crucifixes, spike bracelets, pyramid belts and other hard-to-find stuff in the mall? Done & done. 16 Images 1990 // You ask – we listen. We bring in music tees, and the rock wall is born. 08 Images 1991 // We become known as the loudest store in the mall. Which means we basically rattle our neighbors’ walls. Listen to Hot Topic’s 25 Years of Music Spotify playlist! 1991 // We were labeled punks, geeks, weirdos, goths, rockers – and we didn’t care. It was our passion for music and pop culture that mattered. 05 Images 1991 // Something’s missing. Oh, yeah. Clothes. We bring Lip Service and Tripp to the mall. 06 Images 1992 // Goth store? Homey don’t play that! 01 Image 1992 // We move our headquarters yet again. 05 Images 1993 // Remember MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball? We do, and hold our first in-store appearance with its host, Riki Rachtman. 01 Image Load...