It all started in 1988. A ton of teen retail accessory stores littered the malls, but there weren't any cool, music-inspired accessory destinations for both guys and girls. Enter Hot Topic. Hot Topic offers band and pop culture related apparel and accessories, licensed merchandise, and fashion apparel and accessories. Nearly 25 years since our founding, you can still feel the passion for music and pop culture in everything we do: in our stores, at HQ, in our distribution centers and in our products.