Ouigi Theodore put himself on the menswear map back when he opened The Brooklyn Circus in 2006. The quirky yet charming haberdashery located on Nevins Street in the Boerum Hill neighborhood quickly became a place of discovery— selling under-the-radar merchandise (Nudie jeans, Japanese workwear) alongside its own house label. He was also an early avatar of what came to be known as Street Style, mixing dandy-ish tailoring, vintage athletic wear and other sartorial curios to create a frequently-photographed aesthetic (#ouigitheodore). Here the man, the myth and the hashtag shares his thought about where style is heading and what the fashion world can learn from Black Lives Matter movement.
TS: YOU’RE A GUY WHO CAN USUALLY TELL WHERE THE BALL IS GOING. HOW DO YOU THINK COVID 19 WILL AFFECT THE WAY MEN DRESS?
OT: I think men are going to pay more attention to the casual side of their wardrobe, how they dress at home, and they’ll be spending more time and money on making the interior of their homes more stylish. The average guy is going to start thinking about how his home looks and how he dresses at home. They will be more concerned about their working from home looks. That’s part of the reason we’re selling these Brooklyn Circus house slippers.