By Adrian Corsin
Specifically, the spontaneity could be a blazer amusingly beaded with eyes peering charily from the back and the limitations the noticeably stifled affair of men’s American sportswear, but the suggested creativity never dulled. Rather, it appears it is this very pugnacious juxtaposition which has elevated the label into one of the most sought-after amongst New York’s fashionable men and, more importantly, exists as an indelible mark of the men behind the brand.
Steve Cox and Daniel Silver started the Duckie Brown label in 2001. Their aesthetic - kaleidoscope prints, generous, albeit calculated tailoring, and a thoroughly modern sportif manifesto - both celebrates its American heritage while simultaneously slapping it cheekily on the ass. “I think our sense of humour, our sense of mischief, is a reflection of who we are,” offers Silver. Almost immediately, it’s a reflection that spurs you to realize, Oh God, this is not 2-dimensional.
Cox, the younger of the two by nearly a decade and a born Brit, studied in Liverpool and worked early on in the world of fashion as a designer. Silver, a Torontonian native and self-professed folding obsessive (”I fold everything to this day. If you saw our closets you would be amazed!”), worked for 10 years as a TV producer. Interestingly, they both boast years of sweat employed by some of America’s most beloved icons - Cox with Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, and Silver producing pivotal TV moments for Sally, Maury, and Montel.
The two created the Duckie Brown line “to dress men beautifully and elegantly in a royal fashion.” Though, Silver adds, “There’s always a wink.”
Accessibility, however, is. Both in terms of their line - available at upscale retailers worldwide, including Barneys, Fred Segal Finery, Harrod’s, and Tokishirazu - and themselves. No cumbersome PR team. No bloated Parsons intern boasting a talent for penning snarky e-mails. Instead, these are the type of guys who willingly filter their own Inbox and fantasize about writing a novel telling of the shenanigans of fabricating made-for-TV dentures for toothless celebrities and titling it, “But Do They Have Teeth?” But amidst the humour and accolades, Duckie Brown is no laughing matter. “We’re a small, self-funded designer brand designing, producing and selling in a world marketplace” Silver says. “Just keeping the company afloat is a financial challenge.” Beyond their distinctly defiant clothes, it’s a statement that makes their recent nomination for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Menswear Designer of the Year, against Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein and American legend Ralph Lauren, all the more poignant.
Though if their past success is any indication, such contrasts have never been anything other than a blessing.
I looked up their menswear on style.com, I really like it =D.
i heart duckie brown even more after reading this