KZO's Spring '10 TKO
Don't you hate modest people who come from means and are yet somehow talented, insightful, superior in their music tastes and clued into every happening dive bar as though every nightlife entrepreneur du jour has their number on speed dial?
Me too—at least when I'm in less charitable moods. I can't say that applies to Joel K, founder and creative director of menswear label KZO. The only thing that bothers me about him is that his real surname is Knoernschild; I'm of the opinion that those who have unpronounceable and/or unspellable last names should relish the predicament. Far better than "Smith".
Looks from KZO's spring/summer 2010 collection.
Joel's father is a Pretty Big Deal in the action sports apparel world, but Knoernschild's own tastes skew more contemporary, sort of a mix of Japanese avant-garde with SoCal grit. I've followed his line for a few years now and am thoroughly impressed. He's not going to conquer boutiques the world over anytime soon, but that's a good thing. Joel has found the ones that work for him (including a critical mass in Japan) and seems focused on intelligent, cohesive collections that don't cry for widespread appeal.
Recently he took a little time to answer a few questions from Style Section L.A., so here goes:
SSLA: Your recent collections seem to be a little less grit, Eastern Sierra hike, and more buttoned-up, if not severely so...why this direction? Are you responding to what we've seen in the market?
Joel K.: I think that it’s important to switch themes up while still maintaining the look and integrity of the brand. For example, in any Stanley Kubrick film that he made: Full Metal Jacket, Clockwork Orange, Dr Strangelove, they all followed different storylines (comedy, military, period piece, etc.) but you know by the first frame that the look is distinctly Stanley’s look. It’s the same for KZO. Themes, direction, the evolution of the brand changes, but I’d like to think that by looking at one of our pieces, you know that’s its KZO. The hiking theme of our Autumn 2009 “Hallowed Ground” collection was a reaction from a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada’s with Brett Westfall and not having any outdoor clothes to wear, so I made them.
You've been in biz for a few years now. Has it gotten more or less competitive in the men's market?
It’s always going to be competitive in the marketplace. The second you put your guard down & get comfortable, it’s when things start to go downhill. It’s the creative industry, and you can tell when an musician didn’t give 100% on an album, it shows.
Where do you sell in L.A.?
Currently we’re selling to Ron Herman, Fred Segal Man in Santa Monica, American Rag and The Guild in Venice Beach. All very amazing stores.
If someone were to own one piece of KZO, what should it be for spring?
That’s a difficult question. because obviously I put my heart and soul into every piece, so I’m attached to all of them. If I were to pick certain categories, I really like the fleece this season and the woven shirts. One of the words that I wanted to focus on for this collection was “comfortable.” The season is called “Into the Blue, Out of the Black,” a play on the song by Neil Young “Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue, Into the Black)”, with his “grungy,” casual look. Flannels over T-shirts, ripped up denim pants, etc.
Are you involved in Brett Westfall's new Unholy Matrimony boutique?
Brett’s new boutique is going to be really great, but no I’m not involved in his boutique outside of our band, Barnacle, playing at his store on Jan. 30. We’re going to do an art installation with 2x4 pieces of wood, grass and plants, similar to what we did in Osaka, Japan in November. We did another t-shirt collaboration for Spring 2010 with a drawing he did of a tree, which is great.