But unlike the denim and streetwear of Ksubi, Olch’s eponymous label peddles traditional men’s accessories with a tangle of insouciance. Relatively swiftly his neckties, bow knots,Longines Watches Lungomare, suspenders and now even notebooks have gained cultural and mercantile clout via scope in some of the world’s maximum respected fashion magazines and weeklies including Vanity Fair, The New York Times, American GQ, American Men’s Vogue, Italian Vogue and GQ Germany.
While today his label is sold in stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys in New York and Colette in Paris, Olch began his business in 2003 with merely a rudimentary website.
"I had $US1500 in the bank so I asked myself, ‘how am I going to build this company with $1500?’ " he says. "I can’t take out ads in any publication. I can’t throw parties. I can’t do a fashion show. But if I looked at any big fashion brand and entire the asset they had, the only thing I could supply too was a website."
He found he was selling just the right product to build sustainable online distribution. Unlike shoes or clothing, he offered a one-size product with slower cycles of obsolescence, mitigating some of the hesitance of e-buyers that existed before the days of net-a-porter and saks.com.
"People called me at the time saying, ‘Nobody is going to buy luxury goods on the internet, let alone at this price point, let alone for men,’ " Olch says. "But I just had a feeling this was going to work. We are talking about a business that is literally image-based and is rewarded by the internet because it’s fundamentally a design medium. We got a jump start because of our website but if you look at those sites that do high volume, you’re basically looking at a close-up photograph of the jacket or the tie or the shoe, which puts even more of a premium on the thing being awesome. In a way it’s kind of a revolution but to some extent it’s kind of not. It’s more of a meritocracy."
Olch, who sells his ties on his website for an average of $US150 ($142) each, is as New York as they come. Enveloping his tie knot is a limp, rumpled collar carefully asymmetrical in the fashion of a downtowner, but he was raised on 74th Street on the Upper East Side and was learned nearby at the prestigious Collegiate School, where he adult an early hunger for film. "I fancied myself a Fritz Lang when I was about 12 or 15 and I’d wear a fedora and a trenchcoat to school, which looked a little unusual," he admits. "I think I was struck by the seemingly romantic lives that a lot of movie directors had led."
From Collegiate, Olch went on to Harvard where he majored in film studies. His mentor there was a filmmaker, Richard P. Rogers, who had spent the last 30 years of his life trying to complete an autobiographical documentary. After his death, Rogers’ widow and Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas asked Olch to make sense of a dusty loft full of footage to finish the project. He spent seven years doing so, and the result, called Windmill, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2008 and on HBO the following year.
Olch’s emergence as a fashion designer was entirely unintentional. He designed a necktie as a souvenir for the crew who worked on his thesis film,Chopard Mille Miglia Watches, after which his classmates – who were graduating and taking jobs in banks and law firms and needing to wear ties for the first time – soon started asking for their own. Yet today you wouldn’t look at a rack of Olch ties and expect to see them on a banker or lawyer.
"Men 10 years ago conformed to an unsaid, conservative way of dressing," he says. "Now there’s a certain reward in dressing sharply or having originality. Ties are a pretty simple way to do that. It’s a good entry point into thinking about creative and exciting ways of conveying your masculinity."
The way Olch’s designs fuse orthodox with present-day factors comes from his own life experience. "I think my aesthetic comes from growing up in a truly conservative portion of uptown and then alive here city center, which is very differ," he says. "So somehow I calculate I’m elsewhere between the two and the stuff I make really has someone simultaneously old and fashionable in every design."
His studio is full of evidence to back this assertion. Ties have thick stripes but in high-contrast colours, while others are in solid pastels such as aqua, magenta and burnt orange. There are gingham and seersucker patterns but they eschew the British fondness for navy and black and instead extend to peach, cherry and lime. The materials are sourced from mills in Europe, with the latest collection rendered in cottons from England and linens from Belgium. While the fabrics are imported, the products themselves are stitched by hand in Olch’s factory in Dumbo, directly under the Manhattan Bridge overpass.
Unprompted,Olch points to a superficial box of folded, wrapped ties and bow-ties and casually mentions they are leap for Australia, where they will be stocked in the Sydney and Melbourne boutiques of luxury menswear retailer Harrolds from later this month.
"Mr Olch turns the ordinarily conservative globe of luxury neckwear and accessories into a distant more interesting and ingenious place meantime always lingering true to the artisanal craftsmanship that defines luxury," Harrolds ingenious manager John Poulakis says.
Olch returns the compliment while talking about Harrolds. "I’ve never been to Australia but I met the boys from Harrolds in Paris while they came into our showroom and they were just clearly these really cool guys, really funny and really fine," he says. "It’s large when you encounter the consumers and you can just acquaint it’s the right eligible."
Olch portended that men wanted to wear more thoughtfully and that they wanted to do so from their calculators well before the launch of luxury menswear website Mr Porter in February. But on the subject of how he will persist to innovate with his fashion and also the technology that sells it, he remains coy.
"Nobody’s ever accused me of being safe. I’ve tried to execute the business so it can grow smartly without falling into some of the traps I’ve seen other fashion brands [fall into]. I’m in this for the long term so I’ve approached our strategy that way. I want this company around 40 years from now."
But unlike the denim and streetwear of Ksubi, Olch’s eponymous label peddles traditional men’s accessories with a twist of insouciance. Relatively swiftly his neckties, bow ties, suspenders and now even notebooks have gained cultural and commercial clout through coverage in some of the world’s most respected fashion magazines and newspapers including Vanity Fair, The New York Times, American GQ, American Men’s Vogue, Italian Vogue and GQ Germany.
While today his label is sold in stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys in New York and Colette in Paris, Olch began his business in 2003 with only a rudimentary website.
"I had $US1500 in the bank so I asked myself, ‘how am I going to build this company with $1500?’ " he says. "I can’t take out ads in any publication. I can’t throw parties. I can’t do a fashion show. But if I looked at any big fashion brand and all the things they had, the only thing I could afford too was a website."
He base he was selling just the right product to construct sustainable online distribution. Unlike shoes alternatively clothing, he offered a one-size product with slower wheels of obsolescence, mitigating some of the hesitance of e-buyers that existed ahead the days of net-a-porter and saks.com.
"People called me by the time saying, ‘Nobody is working to purchase luxury merchandise ashore the internet, let alone by this amount point, let alone for men,’ " Olch says. "But I just had a consciousness this was going to go. We are talking about a business that is literally image-based and is rewarded at the internet for it’s fundamentally a design middle. We got a bound begin because of our website but whether you look by those sites that do high volume, you’re basically looking at a close-up photograph of the jacket or the tie or the boot, which puts even more of a bonus ashore the thing being awesome. In a way it’s kind of a revolution but in a large part it’s variety of not. It’s more of a meritocracy."
Olch, who sells his ties on his website for an average of $US150 ($142) each, is as New York as they come. Enveloping his tie knit is a limp, crumpled seize carefully asymmetrical in the fashion of a downtowner, but he was heaved on 74th Street on the Upper East Side and was educated nearby at the classic Collegiate School, where he developed an early hunger for film. "I fancied myself a Fritz Lang when I was about 12 or 15 and I’d wear a fedora and a trenchcoat to school, which looked a little uncommon," he admits. "I think I was struck by the seemingly romantic lives that a lot of video directors had led."
From Collegiate, Olch went on to Harvard where he majored in film studies. His mentor there was a filmmaker, Richard P. Rogers, who had spent the last 30 years of his life attempting to complete an autobiographical documentary. After his death, Rogers’ widow and Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas asked Olch to make sense of a dusty loft full of footage to finish the project. He spent seven years act so,Tag Watches, and the outcome, called Windmill, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2008 and on HBO the following year.
Olch’s emergence for a fashion designer was entirely unintentional. He designed a necktie as a memento for the crew who worked on his dissertation membrane, after which his classmates – who were graduating and catching jobs in banks and statute firms and needing to wear ties for the premier time – soon started querying for their own. Yet today you wouldn’t look at a rack of Olch ties and anticipate to see them on a banker or lawyer.
"Men 10 years antecedent conformed to an unsaid, conservative way of dressing," he says. "Now there’s a certain reward in dressing sharply or having originality. Ties are a beautiful uncomplicated way to do that. It’s a nice entry point into analytic about creative and exciting ways of delivering your masculinity."
The way Olch’s designs fuse traditional with contemporary elements comes from his own life experience. "I think my aesthetic comes from growing up in a really conservative part of uptown and then living here downtown, which is very different," he says. "So somehow I think I’m somewhere between the two and the stuff I make really has something simultaneously old and new in each design."
His studio is full of certify to behind this assertion. Ties have thick stripes but in high-contrast colours, while others are in solid chalks such as aqua, magenta and burnt orange. There are gingham and seersucker patterns but they eschew the British fondness for navy and black and instead extend to peach, cherry and lime. The materials are sourced from mills in Europe, with the latest collection rendered in cottons from England and textiles from Belgium. While the cloths are imported, the products themselves are stitched by hand in Olch’s plant in Dumbo, instantly under the Manhattan Bridge overpass.
Unprompted,Olch points to a shallow box of folded, wrapped ties and bow-ties and casually mentions they are bound for Australia, where they will be stocked in the Sydney and Melbourne boutiques of luxury menswear retailer Harrolds from later this month.
"Mr Olch turns the usually conservative world of luxury neckwear and accessories into a far more interesting and creative place while always staying true to the artisanal craftsmanship that defines luxury," Harrolds creative director John Poulakis says.
Olch returns the compliment when talking about Harrolds. "I’ve never been to Australia but I met the boys from Harrolds in Paris when they came into our showroom and they were just clearly these really cool guys, really funny and really nice," he says. "It’s great when you meet the buyers and you can just tell it’s the right fit."
Olch predicted that men wanted to dress more thoughtfully and that they wanted to do so from their computers well before the launch of luxury menswear website Mr Porter in February. But on the subject of how he will continue to innovate with his fashion and also the technology that sells it, he remains coy.
"Nobody’s ever accused me of being secure. I’ve tried apt perform the commerce so it can grow smartly without falling into some of the traps I’ve looked additional form brands [fall into]. I’m in this as the long term so I’ve approximated our strategy that path. I absence this enterprise around 40 annuals from immediately."