[5][6][7] Silvio Marsan and his son Stephan founded Brandy Melville in Italy in the early 1980s, and opened their first US store in 2009, in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, which borders the UCLA campus.

[2][8] The brand name and logo is inspired by the fictional tale of two people – Brandy, an American girl, and Melville, an Englishman, who met and fell in love.

[10] Brandy Melville has a strong presence on social media platforms, especially Instagram, where they showcase their latest designs and connect with potential customers.

[16] Brandy Melville has faced considerable backlash for its "one-size" policy, narrowly promoting a skinny aesthetic, and predominantly limiting hiring to girls who can fit into its clothes.

[17] In the 2024 documentary film Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion it was mentioned that former employees talked about their struggles with eating disorders and maintaining a positive body image while working at the stores and feeling forced to fit into the brand's clothes.

[18] Marsan and other top executives routinely shared jokes about Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust in a group chat titled "Brandy Melville gags".