5 Minutes with Morgan Collett
We chat with co-founder, Morgan Collett about the story behind the iconic menswear brand, Saturdays NYC. Best known for it’s clean aesthetic and lifestyle focus, the label continues to remain true to itself whilst alluring the luxury market.
Can you tell us a little bit about the story behind Saturdays?
I was working for Acne, in sales and brand management for the North American market. My two business partners, Colin Tunstall and Josh Rosen and I were all friends in New York City and spent a great deal of time together, skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding. Through those friendships we started discussing certain concepts and ideas and when we started talking about Saturdays it all made a lot of sense to all three of us extremely quickly. There really wasn’t anything like it in New York City, nothing with the correlation between surf culture, lifestyle, fashion, retail and coffee – all the things we were kind of into as individuals. We wanted to incorporate all these things into one story. It was also getting a little tiresome seeing how fashion labels would just throw surfboards into their store windows on Broadway every Spring.
And the name?
Funny, this was a very small conversation. We were sitting on Colin’s couch one day and the first thing that came out of Colin’s mouth was, “What about Saturdays?” And we were all said, “That’s kind of fantastic!”
How long did it take for the brand to take off?
For the first two years the three of us worked all day, every day. I would DJ four or five nights a week, Josh would bartend and Colin, was working part time with Esquire magazine.
We found out about a space on Crosby St, Soho and we decided to go for it. At the time (five and a half years ago) it was a beautiful, very desolate cobblestone street in Soho with no hotels and little retail.
We were all super motivated in the beginning and interested in seeing how this concept could evolve, which lead to us designing our first collection of t-shirts. The range was immediately picked up by Beams in Japan, our first retail partner. Soon after other retailers in Japan and the US followed suit and then we knew we wanted to create our own collection, something we could relate to.
In May 2010 we launched our very first capsule collection swapping our retail environment from a multi-labelled space to 100% wholly branded. This is when the whole process and idea of what Saturday’s was, changed.
Saturdays Tokyo Daikanyama Exterior
A look from Saturdays Spring 2015 Collection
Saturdays Nagoya Interior
A look from Saturdays Spring 2015 Collection
Who is the Saturdays customer?
The fun thing about our stores is you see so many different types of people coming through. What we wanted to accomplish with the brand was an ‘open arms policy’ where it doesn’t matter if you surf or work in finance, you are still a part of the Saturdays community. And really that’s what happened.
We see skateboarding kids in New York, banker’s, musician’s and artist’s all wearing Saturdays. A wonderful spectrum of people associate themselves with the brand and enjoy what it’s about. To answer your question it’s pretty broad.
How would you describe your personal style?
Traditional, consistent and classic.
My style is pretty clean with colours like navy, black and grey in my closet. There is a nice sophistication to a white tee and jeans don’t you think?
When you’re not wearing Saturdays what other brands are you rocking?
My wardrobe is primarily 90% Saturdays and outside of that I own Acne. I wear Red Wing shoes now and then.
Can you comment on the differences between American and Australian men’s style?
Sometimes Australian style can be more eccentric and expressive. That would be the only variance. There is such a big Australian community in New York and we have a lot of good friends from Australia. They are very much a part of our world. Saturdays has a very big affinity with down under.
What’s next for Saturdays?
As you know Japan has been a huge market for us. They really supported the business from the beginning and are a main reason we have evolved as a brand. We’re opening our fourth flagship in Japan at the end of this month, which is really exciting for us. We are trying to focus on growing the brand in different cities with relevant markets such as Australia, LA and London.
The latest issue of Saturdays magazine is also about to be released. The magazine contains collaborations with our friends from all over the world. We don’t advertise in the mag or promote our products, only create cool content across facets such as fashion, film and photography.
Morgan’s Favourites
Burger joint in NYC Corner Bistro
Bar in LA No Name on Fair Fax
Surf destination North Shore Hawaii
Hotel destination Edition Hotel – All locations
