Each part of New York City has its own distinct style in the cultural ethos, from stilettos in SoHo to hip hop in Harlem, there’s no doubt that Brooklyn is a prime part of New York City’s swag. Let’s face it, Brooklyn is much more than a borough, it’s a brand in itself. So it makes sense that fashion designers have caught on and incorporated their own voice in fashion. Here is a quick guide to some of the Brooklyn-born and Brooklyn-based talents creating fashion lines.
Spike’s Joint
Spike Lee is probably the most quintessential Brooklynite there is, and his legacy is not only in film, but fashion design. The Crooklyn director has created his own namesake fashion brand called Spike’s Joint, which sells memorabilia, tees, caps and jackets. The online shop was founded to capture Lee’s own influence on pop culture, long before streetwear brands took cues from him. This Crooklyn t-shirt is a sure highlight.
Ron Dyce
Brooklyn-born designer Ron Dyce came to fashion from the construction world. He founded his eponymous brand in 2019. The first idea Dyce had for his namesake fashion brand was to create women’s footwear. “I came up with the idea of gold bottomed shoes,” he said. It refers to a bible scripture, Revelation 21:21, which refers to gold-gilded heaven: “The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.”
Each pair of Ron Dyce pumps has gold-painted soles. “I wanted to use real gold, but I knew that gold-plated shoes wouldn’t suffice because they would probably be too heavy,” he said, so he calls them “24k patent soles.” Each pair of heels is painted with a type of paint that is made of 24 karat gold dust. “It is real 24 karat gold in the paint itself,” he says
The shoes are handmade in Paris and Italy and come in a variety of stylish colors, from pink pumps to leopard printed ankle boots. They’re comfortable, too. He designed the arch of each four-inch heel to have a less dramatic arch. “I still kept the four inches height and I put memory foam in the foot bed and covered it with calf skin leather, so it’s real soft as you’re walking,” said Dyce.
