Just as it must be cocktail time somewhere, the same might
be said of summer or beach season. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are
winding down from a pretty good beach filled summer while those of us in
Southern Hemisphere are gearing up for the coming sand and surf season. In a
final scenario there might be those of us who are looking ahead to the next
warm weather getaway on some tropical island.
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Keeping all this in mind, I turn your attention to Marcuse.
If you’ve not heard of the brand then allow me to introduce you to a burgeoning
swimwear brand. Its designer is from down under and headquartered in Sydney, founded and designed by and Michael Y ( he
likes his anonymity). Its safe to say that there is all kinds of sexiness coming from
this brand whether you are about to hit Bondi Beach, Blacks Beach or the
beaches of Bali.
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So now in his own words let Michael speak about his brand
and himself….
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Jeffrey Felner: Can you give us a brief history of you
and your brand?
Michael Y: I
graduated from fashion design college in Sydney, Australia. After working in
the fashion industry for a few years I decided to work on my own and in 2010
started MARCUSE, a designer men’s swimwear and underwear label. Actually,
creating MARCUSE seemed the natural thing to do after spending many summers at
Bondi beach and feeling that there was a gap in this type of market.
Our goal has always been the same, which is to create
swimwear that makes you feel great and look sexy. We started off with swimwear, and then 2
years later came the underwear line, and most recently men’s sporty beach
apparel in 2014. Time flies and in May it will be our seventh year.
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Jeffrey Felner: Do you have any plans for further brand
extensions... why and what would they be?
Michael Y: We’re
always on the look-out for any opportunities for the brand to grow and develop.
But, we want the expansion to make sense, be sustainable and in line with our
way of thinking – which is trying retain some exclusivity to the brand. We
don’t mind being a smaller, ‘private’ label – for now. We don’t wholesale
MARCUSE to too many websites or any department stores. We’re sold at selected
stores in 12 different countries, such as Aussie boys in Sydney, Les
Dessous d'Apollon in France and Trim Pittsburgh in the U.S. – And naturally through Marcuse.com.
I think no brand can afford to remain stagnant, plus it
doesn’t fit with creativity and survival to do so. Again, if it makes sense we
may offer new lines, product improvement [90% of our swimwear is now made using
quality Italian fabric]; enter new markets or distribution channels. Most
recently, we’ve thought there’s been opportunity for us to work on more
underwear products and we’re very excited about the upcoming launch of
MARCUSE’s new underwear collection in the second half of this year.
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Jeffrey Felner: You have a very specific target audience
so let’s speak to that topic ... why? Do you plan on expand that base audience?
And what do you believe you bring to the table when it comes to swimwear and
underwear?
Michael Y: Actually,
we know we have a diverse mix of customers, which we think is a great thing.
But, there’s something our customers all share in common – they want to look
great, feel sexy and have fun! We try to appeal to those that want to look
great, stand out from the crowd and get the extra confidence to do so by
wearing MARCUSE.
This is part of what I think MARCUSE offers. For me, I felt that most of the swimwear
labels out there were focused on looks for sports and recreation. I wanted to
introduce more of an element of fashion, design and creativity which in turn
creates uniqueness. This is something
we feel sets MARCUSE apart and at which we work at, season after season.
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Jeffrey Felner: If you could choose any collaboration
with another brand or designer, who and what would it be and why?
Michael Y: The
late Gianni Versace – we love him for his creative (sometimes crazy) designs
and for having not been afraid of using colour in his collections. It would
have been amazing to work with such legend.
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Jeffrey Felner: If you could invite any 5 people to
dinner who would they be and why?
Michael Y: Elton
John – every dinner party needs a funny queen
The late Tina Chow – who will always remain an icon in my
eyes
Beyoncé – who else?
Queen Elizabeth – she always comes across as a lovely,
humble lady with a sense of wit too
Ryan Reynolds – personal reasons…
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