Meet the Buyers: Who's Behind The Clothes at Your Favorite Shops?

Get to know these menswear tastemakers.

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Image via Complex Original
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Ahhhh, do you smell that? Smells like buying season, folks! Collections being packed, unpacked and packed up again from Paris to New York for all to see. Well, not all, only those that make the big decisions, of course.

We spend a lot of time giving due credit to the designers that put together the seasonal collections we can't wait to get a lookbook glimpse of. And we always big-up the head honchos at the shops that carry them. But rarely does one of the most important pieces of that clothing exchange get the limelight; the buyer. Without their keen eye for what us as consumers want to see in-store, do you know what kind of crap we'd be seeing? Shutter at the thought. It's time to give them the recognition they deserve, as well as figure out what kinds of things tickle their fancy when it comes to buying. Bow down and pay homage, it's time to Meet The Buyer: Who's Behind The Clothes At Your Favorite Shops?

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Chris Green

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Need Supply Co. 

Mimi Fukuyoshi

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Leo Pagkaliwangan

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Bodega

How long have you been a buyer and how did you get into it?
I was helping out with the buying when I started and the shop opened back in '06. Once I finished school in '08 and was able to be around full-time, I became the head buyer. It just happened naturally, I guess. I never came here with the full intention of being the buyer. I honestly just wanted to help out.

What is your favorite seasonal collection buy of all time?
I'm a jacket fiend, so the fall/winter season is always my favorite of the two collections. If I had to pick a year, I'd say FW11. Acronym brought back the J5A and unveiled the CP-1 cape on everyone that season. I loved Bedwin's Talking Heads theme. The entire collection from Deluxe was on point, especially with that duck camo Baracuta collab. Jordan came back out with the "Last Shot" XIV's -- an underrated sneaker, in my opinion. Taka's Sk8-Hi's for the Vault line were dope as hell. The list keeps going. Regardless, every season has its bangers.

What brand's collection are you looking forward to getting most for SS13?
Apart from the Bodega line, I'd have to say it's a toss-up between Cav Empt and Acronym, for sure. Acronym was the first brand I brought in as a buyer, so there's always been that connection. I still get excited when they publish the subnet and that ACR shipment comes in every season. C.E is a new line we're introducing this upcoming season that was started by Sk8thing and Toby Feltwell last year. It's more than a step apart what most are doing in the market and they're taking from some solid influences, so I'm psyched for it.

What advice would you give other buyers just starting out?
Stop looking at blogs. Trust your instinct. Don't forget who you're buying for.

 

Michael Jaworoski

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Paul Witt

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WITTMORE

Spencer Lemon

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Unionmade 

Emil Corsillo

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Hickoree's 

How long have you been a buyer and how did you get into it?
My brother and I have been buying stuff -- and got into it -- since we launched our store Hickoree's in the summer of 2009.

What is your favorite seasonal collection buy of all time?
I'd have to say the Autumn/Winter 2012 Freewheelers collection is our favorite, but it's a close call. We only buy stuff for Hickoree's that we truly adore and are inspired by, so it's hard to choose one brand from one season. Freewheelers is a new brand for us, and we're the only shop that carries it outside of Japan. It's amazing stuff, expensive but justifiably so. They make clothing with such an uncompromisingly intense attention to detail, it's kind of hard to believe it sometimes.

What brand's collection are you looking forward to getting most for SS13?
The same goes for this as the previous question: we're in love with all of these brands, and each season we really look forward to each brand's new stuff with equal excitement. Two brands that knock our socks off every season are Tender Co. and Folk, both based in London. They're just so creative and expressive, you never know what kind of crazy special things they'll come up with each season. 

What advice would you give other buyers just starting out?
Being a buyer is like being an editor. You're not making anything yourself, but you still have a critical role in the outcome of the final product, the final product being the customers' experience. My advice would be to think hard about what your personal, signature aesthetic will be, and be true to that. Come up with a mission statement, or a set of rules that you adhere to, and make your buying decisions within those confines. It's far too easy to just pick from what you see at other shops, and end up with a generic pastiche of cool brands. The goal should be to make something that's greater than the sum of its parts.

 

George Vlagos

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Independence 

How long have you been a buyer and how did you get into it?
I've been buying for Independence for about a year and a half. While I never sought out to be a buyer, I have to admit, it's a great job. As many of you know, I'm the founder / design director of Oak Street Bootmakers. Independence is our flagship shop and we only carry goods that are crafted in the USA. So doing the buying for Independence has allowed us to cultivate a community for US designers and manufacturers, and give them a home in Chicago.

What is your favorite seasonal collection buy of all time?
One of our focuses at Independence is to buy deep into collections that we don't see a ton of here in the US. I absolutely love Post Overalls - which we do heavily, and Engineered Garments. Those two paired with Batten Sportswear are consistently amazing. With collections as big as Daiki and Takeshi from EG and Post make, I always pick out 'key' items, but also always try to pick out special pieces that I know other shops won't be bringing in.

What brand's collection are you looking forward to getting most for SS13?
Post Overalls. Takeshi's collections always blow me away. Also - I came out to Berlin for Bread & Butter, so while made in Japan, I'm definitely going to check out The Real McCoys. We have a small shop-in-shop called Pop-Up. Pop-Up features a small selection of non USA brands that we respect, and have incredible craftsmanship. For example, we currently have a few pieces from Kitsune, will be bringing in Nigel Cabourn in a few months, and hopefully a few pieces from the Real McCoys for next winter.

What advice would you give other buyers just starting out?
I remember the first time I went to see the Engineered Garments collection I couldn't believe how big it was. Most of those items however, buyers never selected, and so they didn't come to market. What I try to do, is have our customers in mind. For example, when i see certain items I think to myself 'Adam K' would love this piece, or "Jeff L" will flip when he sees this coat! You have to know your customers - after all, you're doing the buying for them. If that's in the foreground, and you buy pieces that you love, from designers you respect, you can't go wrong. 

 

Christiaan Ashworth

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End Clothing

Chris Gibbs

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