5 Brands to Know Before They Blow Up

Launched in Spring 2018, Casablanca is a nascent brand that’s technically still under the radar, but already starting to blow up. The brand made waves at Paris Fashion week this January with laid-back silk shirts in saturated hues, elevated sportswear staples, and of course, Gunna walking in the show.

Prior to the launch of Casablanca, Charaf Tajer helped establish the respected French label, Pigalle. It was only a matter of time before the talented French-Moroccan designer started his own venture. “Really, I have been living this brand my whole life,” he says. “I started the fashion line very simply, using my memories of Casablanca to initially create pictures of these visions, reflected on the silk shirts. When I reminisce about Casablanca and Morocco, generally, it is instantly visual. I want to encapsulate the ambiance of the luxury hotel lifestyle of Morocco and its serenity.” Casablanca is also inspired by “the concept of ‘après-sport,’” he says. “The tracksuits are my response to that, when you have just played a sport and want to dress to relax, but also remain chic.”

At the core of Casablanca, Tajer hopes to show “character and personality.” “It’s got a lot of heart, passion and the brand will hopefully provide for a lot of fun when you wear it,” he says. “When I thought of the brand it was because I couldn’t find these clothes in the marketplace. I wanted to create clothes that really reflected my vision.”

What’s next for the brand? Good news is there’s a lot coming down the pipeline. Tajer teased that he’s been working on a plethora of designs, photoshoots, and video shoots since 2017 that will be released soon. Needless to say, Tajer knows a thing or two about achieving that paired back, yet upscale Parisian vibe and Casablanca is a direct reflection of that knowledge. Buckle up and get ready to see Casablanca absolutely everywhere.

Random Identities is the first solo project from esteemed designer Stefano Pilati, the former creative director of Yves Saint Laurent. First announced in 2017 and unveiled in late 2018, Random Identities parlays Pilati’s expertise in luxury fashion into an online-first label that is irreverent, affordable, and just as refined as it is wearable. In the brand’s debut collection, Pilati featured knitwear, trousers, coats and shirts with expert tailoring in muted colorways. Although Pilati comes from luxury, the price points for Random Identities are solid: the brand’s Military Trench is $405, a Satin Overcoat goes for $260, and the Silver P.A. Necklace costs $170. Pilati says of his brand, “Random Identities takes an angle that privileges good taste as a natural choice to define personal style while rejecting stereotypes or clichés. Fashion at the moment suffers too evidently from ‘aspirational’ marketing norms; serving the wrong supplies to consumers that may have the right demands. Random Identities’ success is the ambition to be fashionably fair. An impossible fashion challenge perhaps, but enjoyable nonetheless.” Pilati has hit the ground running with Random Identities and there’s no doubt he will continue to bring the heat with each new collection. In less than a year since the brand’s launch, Random Identities is already available at SSENSE and Dover Street Market.

Bernard James has been designing since he was 16-years-old. “I always knew I wanted to design,” the New York-based designer says. “In fact, my initial goal was to create full RTW collection. Although jewelry was an afterthought in my mind then, as it is for many people, I immediately fell deeply in love with the process. It forces you to think in very fine detail. The design possibilities are endless… In my mind, there was no better way to exercise the designer in me than on this finer scale.” The impetus for his eponymous line was recognizing a need for elegant, handsome, and newfangled men’s jewelry. ”I originally started my brand to focus on providing beautiful men’s jewelry, as the industry needed and still needs something fresh and new,” he explains. “The brand has a strong focus on craftsmanship, individuality, and intimacy. All the pieces are handcrafted in New York City out of the finest materials.”

While quality is key, the materials aren’t the only reason why James’ jewelry is special. He’s skilled at bringing a vision to fruition. For example, “summertime at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden” comes to life as a flower-adorned gold chain, transforming a potentially feminine motif into a fresh, unisex piece. The Liberte bracelet is also aptly named. Liberte, meaning “freedom,” features a chain and solid 24k-gold working lock clasp that can be worn as either a bracelet or a necklace. James has hit the proverbial nail on the head with his line; his jewelry is refreshing, artistic, personal, wearable, and getting a lot of traction for being one of the few up-and-comers in men’s jewelry capable of doing it all.

Paria Farzaneh is another new brand that sits just on the precipice of blowing up. The London-based designer launched her namesake brand in 2017 and took this London Fashion Week Men’s by storm with a smart collection that celebrates her Iranian heritage. “I feel like heritage is really important,” she told Complex in an interview last year. “It's something that you’ll always have—forever. So having that, having the culture, is so important and something that I’ll never stop doing. It’s really personal, it’s not about doing a collection, it’s about telling a story.” In her two collections to date, Farzaneh has found a way to concoct an entrancing amalgam of traditional Iranian patterns, tailored workwear, and loose knits. The result is a surprisingly modern brand that feels timeless and quite frankly never-before-seen. Her latest collection boasts waterproof suiting separates, hoodies, crossbody bags, and puffer jackets alike; all of which employ colorful, graphic Iranian patterns (the young designer’s signature).There’s a wow-factor to Farzaneh’s clothing line that editors and early followers alike can’t wait to see more of.

Launched at the end of 2016, Post Post Works is a newcomer to the street wear scene that’s all about thoughtful production rather than chasing the “cool factor” (although the brand is, in fact, extremely cool). Founder Amardeep Singh says that with Post Post Works he’s “trying to avoid the overbearing, forced cool-guy ‘exclusivity’ vibe that so many private labels have. Post Post Works is all about transparency and accessibility.’ It’s a refreshing sentiment in a space where hype is usually key.

What sets Post Post Works aside isn’t just fire designs, it’s the intention behind the brand. “I wanted to have a publishing house where I could help design and produce art books and zines for friends,” Amardeep says. “I also wanted a more formal avenue to put out product that I’d been releasing sort of off-the-cuff before. It felt like it was about time to start this sort of amorphous holding group-type company that could bend and flex to whatever direction I wanted to go in.”

The intention behind the brand shows: most PPW tees come with a zine or book (printed in house). Moreover, the typography, design, and verbiage feels highbrow, like something you’d find at a publishing house, not in a streetwear brand.