These successful Philadelphia gents prove that success also comes with an eye on the art of fashion.
ALEX NELSON & MIKE RUBINO
Style Icon: Everett Williams
Lifestyle Bloggers and Content Creators, alexandmike.life
Everyone who’s anyone knows locals Alex Nelson and Mike Rubino for their cool-kid style and equally beautiful interior design skills. The dynamic duo have been upping Philadelphia’s fashion scene since they launched their blog Alex and Mike in 2015, very quickly gaining a dedicated following of over 20,000. “For us, it was just something fun to do that inevitably grew into what it is now,” Nelson explains. “Just having a community of like-minded people that we’ve been able to connect with all over the world [is amazing],” Nelson continues. “Every day, it’s mind-boggling that we get messages from people, whether it be someone that is struggling to come out and they’re connecting with us or someone asking something like, ‘Where should I buy these pants from?’ It can be anything from big to small, but we’ve always prided ourselves on answering every message. We try our best to always connect because without the people who follow us, we would be nowhere.” Currently, Nelson and Rubino are focusing on a very exciting upcoming chapter: their wedding in Cabo, where they’re working with Philly businesses to bring a bit of home to the upcoming nuptials. Previous projects include an event they hosted with Arhaus, which dots into their talents as interior designers (seriously, their kitchen is enviable, along with the dishes and cocktails concocted within it). Rubino explains, “The style and design process go hand in hand and how we pick pieces for our home—curated pieces that we’re going to love forever. I feel like we have that same kind of mindset when we buy clothes, especially now that we have learned more about clothes and wearing craftsmanship rather than just buying fast-fashion pieces. We really try to take the time and curate pieces that we will love and cherish forever.” This means brands like Bottega Veneta, JW Anderson, Jacquemus, Nanushka, Cos, Club Monaco and Acne Studios, along with apps like Grailed, which focuses on second-hand, highquality men’s streetwear and designer pieces. “We’re so into quality right now because we’ve learned that [with fast fashion], number one, the practices of making those things aren’t always the greatest, but also they’re not as classic,” Rubino says. “We’re more about investing now in our style.”
KEVIN KREIDER
Style Icon: Godfrey Gao
Actor, Founder and CEO of Sans by Taejin Beverage Inc., doyousans.com
We’ve all seen Kevin Kreider on Netflix’s hit show Bling Empire— but there’s much more to the Roxborough native than just what you see on screen. In fact, he has an entrepreneurial side that reaches far beyond modeling and gallivanting with some of Los Angeles’ elite. One example launches this month with Sans: Kreider’s first nonalcoholic beverage that nods to his own sobriety, which is lightly discussed on Season 2 of the show. “The mission for Sans is to empower and normalize sobriety and people who don’t drink,” Kreider explains, noting that part of the inspiration behind the idea was the stigma in the Asian community, where drinking is a method of saving face. “It’s something very meaningful to me,” he adds. Alongside the launch, Kreider is also starting to get back into acting, where he’s been writing and producing his own films—the first full feature he’s acting in is set to debut at a film festival in the Philippines next year. Along with Season 3 of Bling Empire (to release this month), Kreider is set to have quite a productive season. During this time, we’ll all tune in to the fashion-filled show, which brings us to wonder, what is Kreider’s go-to style? According to him, grounded, timeless pieces from brands like AllSaints, Zara and John Varvatos are key wardrobe staples. Much unlike his co-stars, he opts for a more simple style but does admit that the show influenced him in one way: watches. “[It] inspired me to be more into that because I find that they’re more meaningful,” he says. “They’re more timeless than clothes can even be.” Currently, his dream would be to own any watch over $100,000. “My goal is to obviously learn more about their fashion and their trends,” he says about his highfashion- forward friends, “but also to keep a part of me, which is I’m not from that, nor did I ask to be a part of it in the sense of needing to blend in with them. I think what’s cool about my style is that it does stick out because it’s not like that.”
Michael Paul
Style Icon: Harry Styles
Comedian, michaelpaulonline.com
Audubon local Michael Paul is what one could consider a Swiss Army knife of entertainment. He’s a stage tech turned producer, comedian, writer, puppeteer and then director. He’s worked alongside some of the most famous in the industry from The Muppets to Spike Lee, as well as Joan Rivers and James Brown. In his 30-year career, he headlined in over 40 countries, and received television credits on The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live and America’s Got Talent, as well as movies like 27 Dresses. To say that he’s accomplished a lot is an understatement. But one thing that won’t come up with a quick Google search is this: Paul loves pocket watches. In fact, he collects them— including one from his great-grandfather, and another from his grandfather that he dangles in front of the camera during our interview. “It’s kind of old-timey. I love it. … I collect pocket watches, and I use them through the pant hook,” he explains. Complementing the eclectic accessory is a style that ranges from jeans and T-shirts to French-cuff shirts and hats all in hues of black, red and purple. “I have a friend of mine who works in fashion. She’s a stylist, but she’s also a backup singer. ... Every two or three years I make her come to my closet and help the middle-aged Caucasian man out,” he explains, noting brands like Zara UK and Mavi Jeans (he loves their Turkish, European cut) as favorites. But even then, he tries to stay true to his creative mind, as well as how it relates to his profession. “Having a little juj—a pocket square, a handkerchief—any of that gives you a little edge,” he explains. “These kinds of creative accents allow for dress-up or dress-down environments, providing creativity and uniqueness even in conservative [atmospheres]—allowing me to feel confident with some creative expression while still appropriate to professional or personal surroundings. It is a balance.”
Walé Oyéjidé
Style Icon: Steve McQueen
Fashion Designer and Founder, Ikiré Jones, waleoyejide.com, ikirejones.com
For Nigeria-born Walé Oyéjidé, it all started at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. “Because I wore suits every day for my profession, it urged me to think more deeply about how to reinterpret them,” he says. This blossomed into his love for fashion design—leading the Philly local back into a creative realm (he had previously been a musician before starting law school). “I thought that there was perhaps a way I could introduce a different cultural slant and perspective into that conversation of men’s tailoring,” Oyéjidé continues. Almost a decade ago, he launched Ikiré Jones with tailor Sam Hubler, with the mission to create beautiful pieces that extended beyond the status quo of fashion—dispelling biases through designs with deeper meanings. They do this through jackets, shirts, suits, sport coats, outerwear, wedding attire and scarves—oh, the beautiful scarves. Each printed in Como, Italy, the silk foulards feature original paintings or designs by Oyéjidé in collaboration with other artists. They are so intricately stunning that they caught the eye of costume designers for Marvel Studios movie Black Panther. One was even made especially for the film, and is later seen on King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). “It became the rare circumstance in which an opportunity that’s huge, and has a very narrow funnel for what will fit that opportunity, [came to] us,” Oyéjidé explains. “I think that just speaks to the idea that whatever it is that you do, stay true to that and worry less about what everybody else is doing, because when the time is right for you, the time is right for just you.” The scarf became such a symbol that he re-created the design for fans called “From Wakanda, With Love.” It quickly sold out due to people’s deep connections and love toward the movie—an idea that Oyéjidé hopes that all of his pieces can portray, using beautiful things to help lead us into better cultural acceptance rather than an exploitative force. He concludes, “It really just becomes a tool of connecting people that would ordinarily think they wouldn’t have something to say to each other. … Because our art speaks to such a wide array of people, individuals from different backgrounds bring different interpretations to our works. These different perspectives serve as more of a cultural connector than a divider. To some, the work is just aesthetically beautiful. To others, it is politically disruptive or historically important. To many, it’s all of the above.”
Photography by: COURTESY OF ALEX NELSON AND MIKE RUBINO; DAVID CHRISTOPHER LEE; BEN REVZIN; WALÉ OYÉJIDÉ
