One of the most
loathsome people I ever met and worked with gave me the sagest advice and that
was … assumption is the mother of all f—k ups and the same goes for
preconceived notions! Sometimes we are guilty of judging a book by its cover,
personality profiling or making movies in our heads and sometimes we just have
no clue or opinion about someone we are about to meet head on.
This writer had the most extraordinary pleasure of meeting a
gentleman by the name of Jay Kos who happens to own a 21st century
haberdasher in NYC. It is located on Mott Street in Nolita via Lexington Avenue
and Park Avenue. Mr. Kos, upon meeting, may appear to be some wannabe rocker or
urbane urban cowboy when in fact he is a totally evolved, charming, well-spoken
and engaging gentleman with deep roots in the arts of style and fashion. To me,
he has created an image of himself that is distinctly his own and reflects only
a part of what he stands for in terms of menswear.
During the course of our conversation, I was engrossed
listening to his ideas of who he is and what he does in terms of his shop within
the confines of the fashion continuum. Mr. Kos is an old soul in a sort of 21st
century drag, so to speak, and there is nothing derogatory about that as in
fact I salute it! He is in some ways his own best advertisement and then you
might say … well he really doesn’t look anything like his jewel box of a shop.
And that my friends, is the charisma and allure of the Jay Kos experience ... on
personal and retail planes.
What one soon learns is that the philosophy or impetus of
Jay Kos, both the store and person, focuses on just of the few tenets that rule
the upper echelons of any fashion retail business. He is a devotee of the
highest of quality in manufacture, of the finest and sometimes most unusual
fabrications and not conforming to any preconceived prescribed ideas about
retailing of menswear... there’s that phrase again! Another of his most noticeable
traits is his love of color and it is there that he manages to accomplish and
adhere to his esthetic in spades. Much of what is available instore might be
explained as “tweaked classics” which would account for his “hedgie” clientele.
Then of course, there is his more flamboyant or pronounced side which might
account for his cache of sports stars that frequent the store. There is a great
element of surprise within these walls and that is surely something missing from
his uptown relatives.
To say that Kos has eschewed the normcore is not totally
true. It was not hard for me to imagine a fashion inclined customer shopping
there and by that I mean, a self-assured and confident man who wants to have an
edge and not look like he fell out of some cookie cutter designer emporium
wearing some highly editorialized fashion statement. No question that you
cannot be a wallflower but then again you don’t have to be a “total look at me”
fashion victim either. The store, as its owner, is filled with contradictions
on first glance and then after chatting with Jay, it all makes perfect sense.
The clothes have no age, and for the more seasoned of fashion consumers, they
will find there is plenty to lust for here. It must be taken into account that
this kind of individuality does come at a price, whether off the rack or
bespoke but yet when compared to his competition he is right in line. Again the
difference is simply this … do you want to stand out and be an individual or do
you want to blend in as one of the crowd?
When asked about the future of Jay Kos, the store, Jay was
quick to say he is thinking of expanding to the left –coast and to Paris. Again
it was not difficult for me to imagine his success in either or both of these
locations. He is a man on the move as he is the proprietor, buyer,
merchandiser, designer and curator of this one man show! To say, that in many
respects, he and I are of like minds is an understatement and yes of course
that pleases me, as we all know I am not short on opinions or pronouncements.
This is a story that will evolve as time goes by...
I hope the slides offer just a tease of what you find in
the world of Jay Kos and I thank him for his warmth, insights and honesty!
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