Out of a small boutique on the lower eastside in New York City, Osore
Oyagha and Eloise Simonet run a unique menswear brand. With hand picked fabrics
and hand sewn garments with high attention to detail, the massive appeal of Ale
Et Ange reaches far beyond Rivington St. Started in 2006, the rather small
company has been growing rapidly recently. We were able to get a hold of Osore
and Eloise despite their busy schedules, and have them answer a few questions:
Cocaine Pretti: Where are both of
you from?
Osore Oyagha: I was born in
West London; both my parents are Nigerian.
Eloise Simonet: I was born in
Miami. My mom is French; my dad is Jamaican. I was brought up in Jamaica and
New York.
CP: When did both of
you start designing? Did you start together or was this something you both did
aside then together?
Osore: I started in
secondary school, designing school uniforms for myself and a few other kids.
Eloise: I learned to sew
at 11, working on my designs shortly after. We were both working on different
design projects prior to meeting.
CP: The name of the
company is both of your middle names. How did you choose to go with that? Why
not your last names?
Ale Et Ange: We wanted a name
that represented us both. Ale Et Ange had a nice ring to it; last names didn't
look or sound as nice when put together.
CP: How did you two
meet?
Ale Et Ange: We seen each
other in and around the neighborhood, but were formally introduced by a friend a
few years ago.
CP: Where is your
store located?
Ale Et Ange: We have been
operating a pop-up-shop for 2 years at 40 Rivington Street in New York's lower
east side. Our web-store, which will soon be launched, is aleetange.com.
CP: How would you describe the style of your clothes? What type of person are you designing for?
Ale Et Ange: The style is
dressy casual, clean, minimal -with a lot of emphasis on detail, hidden or
immediately apparent, and the cut and fabrics. Inspiration is drawn mainly from
nostalgia and imagination. Our designs are basically clothes we want to be
wearing. There is no specific archetype, just anyone who likes the clothes. We
like to say we design for anyone, not everyone.
CP: Do you guys have
a signature piece? If so, what is it?
Ale Et Ange: We have a few
signature pieces. The suit, our standard one-pocket-button-up shirt, the
blazer, the t-shirts, the ties, the hats... everything.
CP: What’s the
relationship between you’re company and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)? How did that come
about?
Ale Et Ange: It's a hard
relationship to explain... but he loves the clothes and has been wearing
primarily Ale et Ange for the past year and a half. We were introduced by a
friend in common.
CP: What would you
say his (Yasiin) favorite piece is?
Ale Et Ange: The suit, the ties,
the hats, the standard one-pocket-button-up shirt, the t-shirts, the trousers,
the blankets. He loves it all.
CP: Have you worked
with any other artists or celebrities besides Yasiin?
Ale Et Ange: Indirectly, yes...
Pusha T owns a number of our hats. A few others own pieces here and there.
CP: Most of the
pictures on your Tumblr are accompanied by Hip Hop lyrics. How big of an
influence is Hip Hop on your company?
Ale Et Ange: It is a huge
influence on us, but directly has very little to do with our design aesthetic
or the company as a whole.
CP: If you had to
compare the style of your company to any rapper or rap group outside of Yasiin,
who would it be?
Ale Et Ange: Nobody in
particular really. Yasiin is drawn to our clothes, but it is unintentional. With
that said, there isn't a rapper we could not picture in the clothes.
CP: What are some of
your other inspirations?
Ale Et Ange: Mainly
imagination, music, life, everything and nothing at the same time...if that
makes any sense.
CP: What’s next for
you guys?
Ale Et Ange: Fall 2012
Visit the website at aleetange.com .
All Images Copyrighted By Ale Et Ange
Categories:
ALE et ANGE,
Cocaine Feature,
men,
menswear
