Dave Macklovitch doesn’t want to be the guy in the designer suit or the Givenchy face mask. “It’s one thing to be aspirational, but you don’t want to come off as intimidatingly elitist.” Instead, the electro funk musician better known to Chromeo fans as Dave 1 is on a mission to “democratize” fashion through a new collaboration with men’s e-tailer Frank & Oak.
Launching today, the 18-piece collection includes faded tees, crisp button downs, white jeans, sharp blazers and, of course, super skinny cuts as dictated by Macklovitch: “They had to be my aesthetic, like really, really tight pants, so tight that they reduce your sperm count.” And while Frank & Oak may not have gone too extreme on the skin-hugging trouser thing, it’s a line that truly does fit within Macklovitch’s whole Keith Richards/Serge Gainsbourg-inspired look. He favors the occasional Dior tux and has respect for those devoted “male fashionistas” but is realistic about the fact that many of his fans can’t go out and spend that kind of money. He’s not in the game of cutting clothes or getting too preachy about style archetypes. As a well-dressed musician and PhD candidate, Macklovitch is pragmatic and overtly creative all once.
He might fall close to that often ill-fated category of musician-turned-designer, but the lanky, handsome vocalist mainly just wants to make men’s dressing easy and accessible, an idea within the business where both he and the team at Frank & Oak found common ground. “They come from a really rigorous men’s tailoring background,” notes Macklovitch. “Frank & Oak makes things that are a lot preppier than I tend to like, but it’s about the great fit, the affordable smart tailoring, and that’s what is most important—you’ve got to find the perfect cut that matches your silhouette, then you can have that elegance that all men aspire to.”
