Founded in Stockholm in 1996 by Jonny Johansson, ACNE began unconventionally when Johansson began making jeans with a distinctive red stitching - handing them out to friends, family, colleagues, and “creative kids” in Stockholm.

ACNE Studios was created as part of the creative collective ACNE, acronym for Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises. The
company focused on graphic design, film, production, and advertising and later pivoted to Ambition to Create Novel Expressions. In 2006, ACNE Studios became a standalone company and separated from the collective ACNE.

Johansson’s signature collections are defined by design and attention to detail, with an emphasis on tailoring and an eclectic use of materials and custom-developed fabrics. He designed the iconic "Face Motif" logo with a square face, two dots for eyes and a straight lined mouth; claiming it depicted a "common Swedish citizen" - not very happy, not very sad. This popular collection is a dedication to diversity and families of today, all shapes and sizes.

Acne Studios

Deveaux New York was founded in 2016 by Matthew Breen and Andrew Tsao. The brand started as a menswear collection, but eventually launched a womenswear line in 2018 after announcing Tommy Ton as Creative Director.  Deveaux's goal is to reimagine the classic American luxury uniform into its modern day form - not trendy, but still modern; not streetwear or heritage, but refined and unique. The collections are also sampled and manufactured in the United States.

Tommy Ton was best known for his work as a street style photographer and fashion blogger (Jak & Jil). He covered the fashion industry for the likes of Style.com and GQ, and eventually started his own website that housed more than 15,000 of his photographs taken over the past decade. His credible reputation and personal work circulated through the industry and soon enough, he was attending top-tier fashion shows, sitting front row among the best fashion bloggers. Ton still shoots campaigns for other high end brands and Vogue today, but his main priority lies with Deveaux. His deep knowledge of streetwear has helped him bridge the relationship between the runway and consumers. 

With Breen leading business development, Ton spearheading creative direction, and Tsao as Head Designer, this diverse team has the background to take the brand to new levels. 

Deveaux

Dries Van Noten was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1958. He is the third generation in a family of garment makers and tailors; his father, an owner of a menswear shop and his grandfather, a tailor. 

Dries entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy at just 18 years old and is now considered one of the most successful of the Antwerp Six - a prestigious group of designers who graduated from the academy between 1980-1981. After graduating, he began to freelance as a consultant designer before starting his own menswear collection in 1986 which he co-founded with CEO Christine Mathys. 

In 2018, Dries Van Noten was acquired by Spanish fragrance and fashion company, Puig.

Dries Van Noten

Heron Preston Johnson was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and was the son of a San Francisco police officer. In high school, he started his first clothing line, Heron Preston, dropping his last name because he thought the first and middle name combination sounded more regal. The line consisted of recycled tees he had silk-screened and sold all over the world. He was set on making a name for himself.

After moving to New York in 2004 to attend Parsons School of Design, he started a blog documenting eccentric people in downtown NYC. Through this, he was able to connect with Virgil Abloh, who was also contributing to another blog, and Al Moran, who wrote a book featuring a collection of Preston's shots. Preston went on to become a global digital producer for Nikelab, a co-founder of men's streetwear brand Been Trill (alongside Virgil Abloh, Matthew Williams, Justin Saunders and YWP), and then a creative art director for Kanye West, designing everything from tour merch to invitations for Yeezy fashion shows. 

When Abloh and Williams broke off to start their own brands, Off-White and Alyx, Preston launched his online store, HPC Trading Co. Around this time, he had an eye opening experience swimming in Ibiza when a plastic bag floated by him. In this moment, he made a full commitment to environmental change in the fashion industry. 

This led him to supporting the NYC Department of Health's 'Zero Waste' initiative, aimed at eliminating local landfill waste by 2030. For his debut capsule in 2016, Preston collaborated with the NYC Department of Sanitation to release a collection of reworked DSNY vintage or decommissioned uniforms and apparel with the HP logo. His choice of uniforms stemmed from his youth, being the son of a policeman. He always admired the fashionable aesthetic of a uniform and what it meant to be able to wear one, so he used this inspiration to create his first collection, UNIFORM for DSNY. With the funds raised from this capsule, Preston created the Foundation for New York's Strongest, a foundation committed to educating people about environmental issues, pushing the 0x30 initiative, and helping DSNY open a museum. 

With the success of this collection, Abloh introduced Preston to New Guards Group, a company that produces and distributes Off-White as well as many other designer brand apparel. Preston signed with the company and showed in Parish Fashion Week within a year after his initial debut. His brand gained global attention for his ability to create pieces that overlapped between street, workwear, and couture.

Heron Preston's logo means "style"; something universal, with so much meaning for people worldwide. His belief is that one doesn't need to work in fashion to have style, and says that his various interests in music, art, and creating has led him to fashion. He also doesn't believe in borders around his talents or definitions to what is fashionably acceptable (i.e. his collaborations with DSNY and NASA). Preston's focus is contributing to the world through all forms of his work and thinking outside of the box to carry out his mission of promoting sustainable fashion practices and reducing waste.

Heron Preston

Inspired by his father's saying that "interesting people live outside their comfort zones," John Elliott sent his first designs to Nike when he was only 8 years old. The company replied by encouraging him to share his design with his family and friends, a letter that has remained an inspiration to this day. 

John Elliott started his brand in Spring 2012 with his longtime best friend and business partner, Aaron Lavee. The two have built the brand around resolving their own wardrobe problems and creating functional yet modern styles with unique fabrics.

John Elliott

R H U D E was founded in 2013 by Rhuigi Villaseñor, a Philippines native who, growing up, came from very little money and could never afford to buy the clothes he wanted. His father was an architect and wanted Rhuigi to pursue a career in the medical field. However, Rhuigi had another dream. He always dreamt of working in the fashion industry and found inspiration watching his mother make school uniforms and clothes for him and his sister when they were younger. When Rhuigi moved to L.A. at 11 years old, he wanted to pursue the arts, but it didn't seem possible because a career in this industry was frowned upon in the Filipino culture - especially given their economic situation. Rhuigi felt the need to make money as quickly as possible to help out his family, but also wanted to tell his own story in doing so.

Not knowing a word of English when he came to the United States, he set out to learn through the American culture - sports (particularly basketball), iconic athletes like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, people in his neighborhood, music, and style figures like Taz Arnold. Rhuigi would watch them, study how they spoke and acted in order to learn English and develop a sense of style himself. 

By the time he decided he wanted to start his own brand, the recession hit and left his family in an even more difficult financial situation. They were forced to downsize and Rhuigi felt the pressure, more than ever, to succeed.  In his latter years of high school, he learned how to stitch and went to pattern making classes. By his senior year, he worked with TISA, Taz Arnold's clothing label, doing anything from consulting, videos, and campaigns. Even though he wasn't being paid, he considered the experienced invaluable. This led to a few jobs assisting stylists for artists like Big Sean, and eventually he landed an internship with Shaun Samson, British menswear designer who had the support and attention of the famous Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons designer). It was through Shaun that Rhuigi truly understood the art of designing.

In 2012, Rhuigi designed a black and white paisley bandana t-shirt that would end up changing his life. This was his first Rhude piece, and it caught the attention of Kendrick Lamar. Even though Rhuigi had no intention of selling the t-shirt because he was solely designing for his own wardrobe, he eventually gave into Lamar, who then wore it to the BET awards. The shirt then caught the eyes of Snoop Dogg, who requested 100 more, and the rest is history.  Rhuigi brought in $150,000 from those t-shirts alone, and launched Rhude a year later.

The name, Rhude, was an honor to his family as they had a tradition starting all of their names with "Rh". The word itself derives for the word "rude," which was a representation of Rhuigi's rebellion against being so disciplined as an adolescent. 

Rhude is designed to be a reflection of Rhuigi's personal stories and experiences growing up, and often combines American iconography with historic references and commentary on L.A. style and culture. The brand has continued to receive approval from celebrities like Kobe Bryant, Frank Ocean, Future, LeBron James, and even Ellen DeGeneres for its impressive designs. Rhuigi has since launched a womenswear and footwear line, released several collaborations, and had the honor of showing at PFW Spring/Summer 2020 for the first time ever. He has no plans to slow down momentum and remains focused on making quality products that authentically represent him.



Rhude

Launched in Fall 2015, YEEZY is the collection from directional designer Kanye West. Uniting the worlds of fashion and athletics, the zeitgeist-capturing label advances a distinctively avant-garde vision of contemporary streetwear. The brand’s range of innovative ready-to-wear and sought-after footwear sees utilitarian staples elevated with cutting-edge fabrics and boundary-pushing silhouettes. Industrial and military inspirations take form in oversized MA-1 bomber jackets, field jackets, and windbreakers, with down-filled parkas, long anoraks, and high-tech sneakers navigating the territory between practicality and experimentation. 

Yeezy

Auralee is a Japanese fashion brand founded in 2015 by Ryota Iwai. After serving as an assistant at the knitwear brand Norikoike, Iwai started his own textile-focused brand with the name derived from an American folk song. 

Inspiration for Auralee’s collections are drawn from various sources, from the colors Iwai comes across in his daily life to the feel of different materials and textures he sources. Iwai takes time extensively researching high-quality raw materials and yarns that he sources from Japan and all over the world. By choosing a specific color or new material to highlight each season, Iwai brings a distinctive character to each of his projects in his approach to design. Despite the uniqueness of each collection, high quality remains consistent, producing pieces that are elegant, effortless, and functional. 

Iwai opened Auralee’s first shop in Aoyama, Tokyo in 2017 and was selected as the 2nd Fashion Prize of Tokyo the following year. 
