Ronnie Fieg, of the cult streetwear sneaker store Kith, is getting serious about apparel.
The king of sneaker collaborations, who has worked with New Balance, Asics and Puma in the past, is bringing his nascent apparel line to the wholesale market for the first time and will introduce a capsule collection at Dover Street Market London in July.
The initial collection includes the Great Jones pant, a sweatpant made with tech fabric in black or white. A tech short will layer the sweatpant and is made of waterproof nylon. Hooded sweatshirts will come in terry tech nylon sleeves with the lower half of the item in black, the rest in white.
In September, the collection will be expanded to 90 pieces and will be sold in Kith’s 3,000-square-foot department inside Atrium.
“Apparel is going to become a primary focus, just like the footwear has evolved, and it’s special for us,” Fieg said. His sneaker collaboration with Puma, called the XT-2 Achromatic, launches at Dover Street Market New York and London, as well as Kith stores, on the same day the capsule apparel collection will make its debut. The minimalist shoes — sans any logo, made of Italian leather, lined with calfskin — will retail for $180.
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Fieg, who has been in the shoe game since 2006, first dabbled in apparel in 2012 and has had particular success with a Mercer pant, a military-inspired cut with elastic ankle cuffs, two front and two rear pockets and stitched paneling at the leg.
“I get inspired by sports fashion,” he said. “One brand I love most is Public School, and I get inspired by Tim Coppens. But with Kith I want to add more of a street element to that. It’s fashion street. It’s where street meets fashion but at a lower price point.”
The expansion of apparel is part of Fieg’s push to become a lifestyle brand. “We’ve done candles, soaps and lighters, towels, bedding — we’re going to cover everything,” he said. “Footwear has been the draw and the primary focus for the last years, but the same consumer coming in is wanting more from us.”