Duckie Brown: DesignYou Can
Invest In

Welcomes Collaborations; Could

Launch Diffusion, Women’s

Wear Line With Investment

By Richard Collings
Published: August 3, 2009

   If there’s anything consistent about Duckie Brown, it is its constant embrace of change, featuring an aesthetic for its men’s wear line that is always moving forward from one season to the next.
   Considering what has come to pass in the world of fashion and beyond this past year, the New York City-based label and the duo behind it, designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver, may be well-suited for the times.
   Silver noted there’s “change all around us,” emphasizing that fashion is always changing, and described Duckie Brown as one of the designer labels that moves forward, showing that the two designers have done, and can do, many things well.
   Yet despite its constant shifts, Duckie Brown seems to sell. Silver said that while the clothes are unusual, they are also classic and stand the test of time. The label is generating revenues in the realm of six figures, or below $10 million, and growing, according to Silver, though he declined to offer more specific numbers.
   Duckie Brown forges ahead in part because of its low overhead, utilizing the same studio space out of which the company has operated for the past several years, remaining small and fiscally responsible. The men’s wear line is produced in nearby locales such as the New York City Garment District, New Jersey and Long Island City.

   The label also does not sell to stores that can’t pay, indeed, demanding a deposit up front, Silver explained. Its retailers include Barneys New York, all eight Scoop locations, forwardforward.com, and Odin’s three stores, among others, he said. He claimed that the label hasn’t had to mark down its clothes due to the recession either.

   For now, the brand is reveling in the success of its collaboration with Florsheim, and wanting more. Silver said that additional collaborations would help to further lift the Duckie Brown name.

   Silver also sees opportunities in launching a diffusion, or as he likes to call it, a “diversion” line, to make his and Cox’s designs available to a broader audience at a lower price point.

   Women’s wear, which Cox has experience designing, would be another area the label would like to potentially delve into. But to offer a diffusion or women’s wear line would require investment, as the company does not have the funds to do so.

   Silver said he is always willing to discuss potential investment, but he’s not actively pursuing it. Interested investors should contact the company, knowing Duckie Brown’s story, and be optimistic about the brand’s potential, Silver summed up.

   Lauded by critics, nimble in its approach, fiscally responsible, with a strategic collaboration under its belt, and featured on the shelves of the right stores, this is one label that will hopefully find the right financial partner.

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