Brand Spotlight: 18 East

18 East is a brand I’ve been following for a while now, but somehow it never ceases to amaze me with each collection. Antonio Ciongoli, the founder of the brand, has been able to find a niche within menswear and has established 18 East as one of the brands to watch out for. Ciongoli’s design philosophy has remained consistent throughout his career, which is to provide men with clothing that’s well made and applicable to the way men wear clothes today. The designer has been able to develop his design prowess through his time working at Ralph Lauren, Michael Bastian, and creating his own suiting brand Eidos. These were the formative years that allowed him to identify who he was as a designer and the type of brand he wanted to have, which ultimately became 18 East. 

At 18 East, they have prioritized making pieces using traditional garment making techniques of artisans across the world, while striving to make the brand more sustainable by decreasing wastefulness. The brand wants to identify and collaborate with garment makers with unique, time-honored production customs to ensure the practices aren’t forgotten. From his numerous fabric development runs over the years, Ciongoli developed a strong fondness for exotic, unique fabrics found in countries like India, Nepal, and Japan. 

The dedication to preserving traditional production methods and Antonio’s love of skating have served as the main reference points for the brand for its first initial collections.  He traveled to India and Nepal to learn from artisans in order to create his first collection. While visiting Jaipur, Delhi, and Kathmandu, Antonio was able to find the textiles for his first collection. His first collection made up of outerwear, knitwear, woven shirts, and pants were made through the traditional methods he and his team learned while attending the workshops during their travels. The brand has gone on to release several capsule collections and has been able to cultivate a cult following. From reversible sahasika jackets to pony hair Wallabee’s, 18 East has shown time and again that it can deliver truly masterful pieces while using the techniques and textiles that are not celebrated enough. 18 East is doing something that’s extremely important and is needed in the modern menswear scene. The brand is able to showcase and aid in the preservation of traditional garment making methods and highlight the culture in which it comes from. This allows the brand to provide its customers with well-crafted, affordable pieces that have an innate story behind it, which is becoming increasingly harder to find. 

The 18 East flagship store located on Elizabeth Street in SoHo, is filled with the well-crafted, colorful pieces that the brand has become well-known for. Antonio does an exceptional job of making intricate, detailed pieces that are still easy to wear on a daily basis. Ciongoli is making a concerted effort to break away from the current trends of having large collections, and instead focus on fewer items with a low depth for each. This isn’t a ploy to build hype for the brand through scarcity, but rather a dedication to putting quality over quantity. The brand drops about 15 to 30 pieces every couple of months on its website and at storefronts carrying the brand. Ciongoli wants to grow the business slowly. The brand has done a few collaborations with other brands, but Antonio is extremely selective with the brands he works with. Each collaboration must meet his criteria: does it support or preserve a tradition that should be passed on and/or has a positive impact on society. Using this as the framework for collaborations has led to the brand making strategic partnerships that are aligned with the brand’s core values. Some of the brand’s most noteworthy collaborations have been the revamped Levis 501s with Atelier & Repairs using Indian handloom fabrics and the recent ArkAir 3-piece collection comprising of Indian Ajrak all over prints and earth tones. I’m extremely excited to see what the brand has to offer in its next capsule collection.

So what can you cop right now? 18 East has many of the pieces that dropped in the January 2020 drop still available on their site. Below you’ll find some of the noteworthy pieces available currently.  

AE McAtter Penny Loafer Brown Pull Up Spectator

These are just sublime! These are the shoes to get ready for the post sneaker world we are heading into. The loafers were made in partnership with NYC leather maker, Andrew McAteer. The extremely limited run was handmade by McAteer himself using chocolate brown pebbled pull-up leather and tan suede on a ridgeway sole. These are perfect for someone looking for a pair of loafers that will stand out amongst the sea of black Gucci Horse bits. 

ArkAir x 18 East Mammoth Parka 

Next, we have a piece from the ArkAir x 18 East collab. It’s the Mammoth Parka with indigo Arkjakh printed water repellent cotton. ArkAir is a sub-brand of UK based technical outerwear and tactical gear brand, Arktis. Arktis clothing has been used by military and emergency forces across the world for decades and has become well-known for its quality made products. ArkAir draws from those same core design ideals and constructs innovative, functional clothing using the newest textiles and techniques. The brand has had collaborations with brands like Palace Skateboards, Fred Perry, & Comme de Garcon. The collaboration with 18 East makes sense on so many levels. The Mammoth parka is a perfect jacket for when having to commute in bad weather or when taking a hike. The technical elements of the jacket are done with the expertise that ArkAir has developed over the years. The jacket sports a mesh-lined pullover silhouette with side ventilation zips, an uneven hem, and two large pockets on the front. 18 East used Indian indigo wool with a handmade block printed in the Ajrakh style and then manufactured in Northern Ireland. The 6 oz organic cotton was then given a water-repellent and emerised finish to make the ideal jacket for any weather conditions. I absolutely recommend this jacket to anyone wanting to spice up their outerwear. 

Trek Pant

Crazy pants are back! Honestly did they really ever leave? I am always a fan of a tasteful all over print pair of pants and 18 East delivered a great pair in their recent capsule. The corduroy Trek pant in the black bagru print is elite level print design. The intricately patterned pants are of course handmade (what else would you expect?), has a mid-rise with a built-in nylon belt, bungee cinched hem and four spacious climbing pockets. Not much else to say about these. Just an amazing pair of pants. If you’re a fan of the print used then you’ll want to look into 18 East’s shirt and fleece that use the same print. Some honorable mentions for the wild all-over print pants category: would include golden cabled corduroy Single Pleat Trouser and the corduroy Julian pants with the bagru print.

Bal Coat 

Remember when I said 18 East was good at outerwear? Yeah, this is exemplified in the upcoming piece. The Bal Coat will become your go-to jacket. The Bal coat is slightly oversized with full raglan sleeves and is unlined to give the wearer more versatility and make it more breathable. The coat is constructed in India and is made up of 100% of Irish Donegal wool tweed in a patchwork grey design. The removable throat latch, two-way vision zipper closure, and ingenious pass-through pockets are the little details that make the Bal Coat so brilliant. 

Padmore & Barnes Single Piece Boot

Lastly, we have the footwear to add to your arsenal for the post sneaker world we are entering. The 18 East and Padmore & Barnes Single Piece Boot with Snuff Suede are just simply good. Do you know the Clarks Wallabees? Yeah, the ones you see everyone from your friend to fashion insiders wearing. Padmore & Barnes are the original manufacturers of them. 18 East reached out to them to recreate the shoes worn by Aran fishermen. However, the shoes 18 East created use English suede with an asymmetric side tie with a rawhide closure all on top of a natural crepe sole. These shoes will age beautifully over the years, which is good because you’ll want to wear them every day. 

So, these are only a few of the many fire jawns that 18 East has released. I would highly encourage you to check out the brand's site, store, and on secondary markets to pick up more pieces. 18 East is easily one of the best upcoming brands based out of NYC right now. I’m interested in where Antonio Ciongoli decides to take the brand in the coming capsule collections. He has shown he is someone to watch within menswear and that the brand deserves all of the praise that it has received.