GREG CHAIT GOES SOLO

After leaving the company last year, former chief executive officer of the denim label Ksubi, Greg Chait, has decided to branch-out and go into business for himself with the launch of his line -- The Elder Statesman. The line is a collection of sunglasses and Mongolian cashmere knits and the name of the collection is a tribute to his older brother Paul, who died four years ago in a Phoenix shooting.

The designer tells WWD that the term ‘elder statesman’ connotes someone who holds a high rank in society and is revered by all, adding that “my brother’s nickname was ‘The Mayor.’ He was a very fair guy, loved by all — so the name worked out well, really.”

As for the makeup of the collection, the Toronto born designer says its inspiration came from a plain brown 12-gauge blanket -- “It was the most simple, standard cashmere blanket. I never had anything like that. It just fit into my life so well.”

Given his love for that blanket, Chait began to amass a collection of covers from the likes of Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Missoni and Lainey Keogh telling WWD that he liked the look and feel of them all over the place which let him to conjure up an idea of the perfect blanket.



The Elder Statesman is now sold at outlets including Maxfield in Los Angeles, 4510 in Dallas and Barneys New York in Manhattan and, next March, Chait will head to Paris for Fashion Week to show his collection which has a homey, artisan feel -- “I like the inconsistency of yarn when it’s handspun. You don’t know exactly what you’re going to get. The line is very much about how things are made, where they come from, who’s making them,” Chait tells a WWD reporter. The wholesale prices in the line range from $125 to $2,200.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.