Grungy Gentleman's new design approach
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Grungy Gentleman's creative director Jace Lipstein is well known for two things: his six stripe motif and his consistent use of neutrals like grey and navy blue. He was an athleisure brand before athleisure even became more mainstream, and thanks to the NBA's love for his casual, approachable designs, he has grown Grungy Gentleman from a small blog to an entire lifestyle brand.
After several seasons of his variations of grey and navy, Lipstein decided to step out of his comfort zone at New York Fashion Week: Men's this season. While there was still his signature use of grey and navy, this season the collection also included electric blue, tie dye prints, and statement pieces like denim jackets embellished with graphic motifs. For a designer who had an understanding of what male customers want, it was great to see Lipstein finally push the envelope.
While his brand growth aligned perfectly with the growth of athleisure, as streetwear has become more popular, the trend has made its way into his brand. In addition to the use of more color, there was also denim. The opening two looks alone were evident of where Lipstein was taking his Grungy Gentleman brand. The use of colorblocking was creative and strong, and has the ability to bring in a new customer.
Grungy Gentleman has managed to keep their core customer happy for years now, but this was a collection that has the potential to help them bring in someone new, especially younger men. Younger millennials and Gen-Z consumers are much less afraid of color and wearing statement pieces. They are more adventurous about their fashion choices.
The casual austerity of the brand had at once instantly disappeared, and a new, reformed Grungy Gentleman emerged like a phoenix from the ashes reborn. This is arguably just the beginning for Lipstein with this testing the waters, but given men's penchant for something different, they are sure to respond at retail. As for where Lipstein will take the brand next, he'll likely wait to see what performs best come fall of this year, but he's shown us that his aptitude for more creative design is there.