In that fortress of conformity, Manhattan's Upper East Side, men don't dare deviate from the standard suit cut. But as Jay Kos proves, even in a classic shape, a guy can still be distinct. The 34-year-old designer and proprietor of two stores bearing his name makes his blazers in a single style—two-button—and limits pants to flat front with a shortish rise. Kos has nevertheless managed to attract a diverse clientele—from Park Avenue bankers to hip-hop impresarios like OutKast's André Benjamin—by making his mark with color. Witness a pair of his lime-green corduroy trousers popping out like a beacon against a recent slate-gray New York City sky. "What I do is in style all the time," he says of his refusal to abide by trends. "If anything I just change color. I don't change cut. I don't change fit. Ever."
Kos grew up in New Jersey, compensating for his dyslexia by communicating visually. "Clothing was my way of expressing myself," he recalls. Despite his early sartorial interests, he never imagined he'd end up making boldly colored suits for strangers—originally, he thought he'd be working on their teeth. The son of a dentist, Kos decided to follow in his father's footsteps, but after two years of dental school, he dropped out and opened his first boutique.
Initially, the young entrepreneur sold only shirts, ties, socks, umbrellas, and shoes. Ten years later, he works with European craftsmen to produce a complete Jay Kos line that fills a 1,700-square-foot space on Lexington Avenue and a second Park Avenue location. The latter contains a small legion of luxury staples—bespoke suits, Scottish cashmere sweaters, 18-carat-gold cufflinks, velvet slippers, and Edward Green bench-made leather shoes. "Men aren't used to buying anything more than a label," he says, revealing his plan to take the Kos brand to a wider market in coming years, based on the strength of its craftsmanship. He points to hand-carved buffalo-horn eyeglass frames from Germany, and one of his brown crocodile belts, designed as a flat tube rather than backed by a less expensive leather.
Kos is especially proud of his jackets. He commissions fabrics from an English mill and sends pieces to Italy for tailoring, adding trademarks like a natural shoulder, ticket pockets, and a high armhole. "Once people wear my jackets they become addicted," he boasts.
The latest mark is 28-year-old Tommy Haas, the German-born tennis player currently ranked fourteenth in the world. Haas lives in Sarasota, Florida, and admits to wearing mostly casual clothes, since he works out six days a week at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. "I'm an easygoing-clothing type of guy," Haas says with an accent as strong as his serve. "Maybe it's because I live in Florida. It makes more sense to be relaxed." Wearing Jay Kos is beginning to change his game. Haas was so impressed with the fit of Kos's jackets that he wore a powder-blue cashmere blazer with a white T-shirt and jeans to the Glam Slam players' party at West Chelsea's Crobar just before the U.S. Open. "I thought it was really a cool look," he recalls. "I've had suits on before that I felt very stiff in. But Jay has really nice clothes and I felt comfortable." Haas's blazer also earned compliments from a crowd that included his opponents Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Rafael Nadal.
For Kos, his admitted "infatuation with the past," which compelled him to buy a 1967 Austin Healey and collect fountain pens, extends to his vision for the wood-floored, gentlemen's club–style boutique. Customers can knock back whiskeys while checking stocks on the in-store ticker, and routinely come to inquire about everything from local restaurants to hotels in Rome. Some have even sought Kos's romantic advice. Explains the happily married father of two: "That's the sign of a true lifestyle brand to me." —SANDRA NYGAARD
Jay Kos, 475 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 (212) 319-2770.
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