Downtown Manhattan-based, women-owned custom clothing company, The Tailory New York, took their friendship with neighbor DOGPOUND Gym to the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) runway at the Nolcha Shows. The show paid a musical homage on the runway to the former burgesses of their respective headquarters’. Both brands inhabit the foregoing studio and headquarters of Oscilloscope Laboratories, “The House”, founded by founding member of the Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch.
“The honor of my workspace being the former studio of Adam Yauch is something I do not take lightly,” said Shao Yang, Founder & Creative Director of The Tailory New York. “I grew up in Brooklyn in the 80’s and 90’s, and not only were the Beastie Boys just the soundtrack to our youth but were our heroes.”
Yang continued, “The music they wrote were anthems to us, they led us, guided us, and most of all, educated us. We think of Mr. Yauch daily, the relics of his studio, the physical elements, and those anthems I mentioned, they play on our sound system constantly, with singing, dancing and fist-pumping included.”
She opened the doors to The Tailory New York in 2013 as a way for her to combine her two passions: Fashion Design and Custom Tailoring. She realized everyone wanted to look their best by having a wardrobe curated to their body and lifestyle, not only enabling them to look their best, but to feel their best as well. The most recent collection in collaboration with DOGPOUND, STREETORIAL gained inspiration from high above the corner of Canal and Renwick streets. The actual gym is street level and The Tailory’s Design Studio is directly above it on the second floor.
“Our two spaces are divided by a hallway, and thanks to DOGPOUND, it has the energy of the tunnel that the players run out of at the Super Bowl,” she said. “The gym thumps all day; it is the collective heartbeat of the building.”
Starting daily at sunrise and dressed in pitch black, DOGPOUNDs Founder Kirk Myers’ and his team are training clients out on Renwick Street. At DOGPOUND, a very special vernacular is utilized, which is dominated by inspiring words such as: “smash!”, “crush!”, “yes!” and most importantly, “let’s go!”.
“This collection exemplifies two unlikely brands and friends coming together to create something really special, which is what I always love to see,” expressed Myers.
With Fashion Week different for the past two years, Yang felt designers owed the audience something special. With that said, her thoughts turned into what creates New York’s energy, the endless drive required and the necessary hustle. The following step was to capture the feel of New York street energy into a collection, which Yang had no need to go a far distance for her muse. As both The Tailory and DOGPOUND share the fifth floor of their building as their respective headquarters, the collaboration was a no-brainer.
“When we asked Kirk about doing this, in an instant he said, ‘Let’s go.’ Then I asked, ‘Hey Kirky, how about you walking in the show?’” said Yang. “He then replied again in an instant, ‘Let’s go.’
“This is the second show I’ve walked in and it was great,” said Myers.
Yang describes STREETORIAL as a fierce, strong and versatile collection. The inspiration from DOGPOUND added street elements such as graffiti, rips, cuts and got The Tailory New York thinking about accessories. Therefore, they infused bucket hats, belts and of course fanny packs, which had the collection go from an athleisure concept to athleisure with an immersion of streetwear.
“The collection was a great translation of our brand and me,” said Myers. “It really brings out the vibe of our brand! The blazer I wore that had our logo crystalized was definitely my style, as I am a big fan of the Swarovski crystals.”
“The one word I would use is ‘formative’,” said Yang regarding what she looks forward to with STREETORIAL. “Every collection and every fashion week exhibition has a profound, lasting impact.”
Yang concluded, “Usually, you do not realize the effect for a while, because the runway show is just the launch of it. The realization of the experience usually happens when you are looking back months later. This collection is different, it has been formative since we started working on it.”
Myers hopes STREETORIAL makes people feel inspired to do things outside the box and to simply just have fun.
Learn more about The Tailory and DOGPOUND’s STREETORIAL collection on Instagram : @thetailorynyc and @dogpound.
