A Closer Look: Patron of the New
- Words Grailed Team
- Date July 26, 2016
Despite New York City's ever-changing fashion retail landscape, Patron of the New has been a forward-leaning staple since the shop opened its Tribeca doors back in 2011. Located at 151 Franklin St., the store is a Grailed Team favorite, stocking both brands we've come to know and love, and those we've yet to discover. We recently sat down with buyer/owner Jonathan Pak for a quick conversation to break down Patron's winning formula, talk the future of men's shopping and figure out what exactly goes into dressing your favorite rapper.
How did Patron get started and what was the inspiration behind it?
I was always into fashion. I couldn’t really find shops to shop at besides department stores. And back then, most of the buys from department stores were too clean and safe for me. Most concept stores that I would go to shut down. It just made sense to open up something new for New York City. I used to be a kid on the forums of Superfuture and StyleZeitgeist. I would trade and buy/sell clothing while in high school and college and would just geek out on fashion. I skated everyday, which is why I was heavily influenced to high end fashion when discovering Dior Homme when Hedi Slimane was the creative director there. When Hedi left Dior, there was a huge gap in mens fashion. I basically only shopped at the Rick Owens store in Hudson Street, but was fascinated by a lot of unrepresented brands I found online, mostly from Japan. I wanted to start a shop with brands that many people in New York were unaware of. Brands that I was really into. Clothing that was hard to get unless you had someone proxy it you from Asia. One thing led to another, and finally my mother and I decided to bring the idea of opening up a shop to life.
Why do you think Patron of the New has continued to succeed amongst a men's retail market that's continually facing issues?
My team and I are so personally involved in what we do. We love what we do. We all don’t have one set task to do. Since opening, we have built a lot of good relationships and met a ton of amazing people. I think that if you are passionate in what you do, the success will come with it. Building a business should always be built organically. We are not looking for fast money or for everyone to know about us right away. Every week, we have people come in shocked that we have already been open for five years, and we love it.
How does Patron go about securing its celebrity clientele? What's it like helping rappers shop?
Most of our celebrity clientele has found us through word of mouth. I am also very grateful for a lot of people who i have met since opening the shop to let the word out about the shop. Those people know who they are.
Where do you see the future of men's retail going?
Men's fashion is growing tremendously. A lot of it has to do with the amount of talented young designers that are being discovered and coming into their own. We are very excited to be representing a lot of these brands and for the future of mens retail.
What brands are you particularly feeling right now and who would you like to bring into the shop moving forward?
Basically every brand at Patron. The list includes Enfants Riches Deprimes, Amiri, Rick Owens, Faith Connexion, Mastermind Japan, OFF-WHITE, Fear of God, etc etc. We are looking forward to some new brands that we picked up including Midnight Studios, Craig Green, and Local Authority.