WM Brown Issue No. 17 – ‘The Origin Story’

LIKE MANY GOOD THINGS, MAARNY began at Pitti Uomo. It was at the trade show’s January 2023 installment that the principals behind the acronym— Michael Andrews of Michael Andrews Bespoke and Angel Ramos of Angel Ramos New York— found themselves seated together at a dinner, and soon realized they had more in common than a taste for Super Tuscans and bistecca. They recognized that they could better serve their varied clientele by combining operations under the same umbrella while preserving their distinct point of view. The burgeoning partnership was soon joined by Brian Sacawa of He Spoke Style, making MAARNY a triple threat. The distinct personalities behind it have realized that there is indeed strength in numbers— and room enough to share. – ET

MICHAEL ANDREWS

Located down an alleyway in the heart of NoHo, Michael Andrews Bespoke might be considered the heart of MAARNY. It was founded in 2006 by the titular Andrews, who’d had to suit up for his role as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, but found New York’s custom options lacking. Sensing an opportunity, Andrews took tailoring courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology before initially launching his business in a basement on the Lower East Side. It’s since grown into a fully vertically integrated firm, whose direct ownership of a bespoke workshop overseas allows it to turn out anything a customer might desire, from tailoring to denim to swim trunks—or, as Andrews like to say, “If you can sew it, we can make it.” By design, Michael Andrews Bespoke does not designate a house style of its own. “If you want a heavily structured, British-style hunting jacket, we can do that,” Andrews says. “If you want soft Neapolitan tailoring, we do that extraordinarily well.” It instead functions as an open book to the client’s desires, a sandbox approach Andrews credits to his past employment. “We’re in the service business,” he says. “My way of thinking has always been client service.”

BRIAN SACAWA

Brian Sacawa has been helping men dress since launching He Spoke Style in 2013— long before the term “influencer” entered the lexicon. But before menswear, he had a first love—the saxophone. Sacawa began playing the instrument at eight and pursued its study in college before accepting a job with the United States Army Field Band in 2002. It’s a position he would hold for more than 20 years while building He Spoke Style on the side. While these two career tracks might seem like disparate threads, Sacawa sees a commonality. “The reason I love the saxophone and music is the same reason I love men’s style and clothing,” he says. “It’s a way to communicate with people, and it’s a way to communicate something about yourself.” In particular, Sacawa wanted a dialogue on menswear that was clear, open and approachable— the opposite of the niche-focused blogs and catty forums that proliferated in the 2010s. Through its articles and videos, He Spoke Style sought to educate all comers, with the hope that they might come out looking—and feeling—a bit more confident at the end. It’s a mission that’s been strengthened since joining the MAARNY umbrella, as He Spoke Style now offers made-to-measure clothing online. In keeping with its ethos, the range is straightforward and classic, designed to form the foundation of a new wardrobe or to better complement an established one. 

ANGEL RAMOS

A native New Yorker, Angel Ramos was brought up with fashion—his mother was a designer and dressmaker who’d emigrated to the city from Puerto Rico. The multitalented Ramos proved the rare combination of artist and athlete, pursuing portraiture in high school and playing Division 1 baseball in college. Ramos returned to New York to work the luxury real estate market, and soon discovered that his own wardrobe was lacking. Ramos would correct this oversight with such zeal that he was named Esquire’s “Best Dressed Real Man in America” in 2010. Naturally, the next step was to dress other real men: Ramos’s own clothing business was founded soon after. From its inception, Angel Ramos New York has provided clients with a clearly defined aesthetic its founder describes as “cinematically driven,” with a particular debt to the gangster epics Once Upon a Time in America and The Godfather Parts I and II. From his ready-to-wear and made-to-measure showroom on Christopher Street—dubbed “La Bodega”—Ramos champions roomy, high-waisted trousers and drapey jackets cut from luxurious fabrics. It’s a house style that might be summarized as an amalgamation of old New York and Golden Age-Hollywood at their respective best. “I am visually driven by cinematography and movies, because they take you mentally and spiritually into a time that you didn’t live in,” he says, ”but that you might have wished you lived in.”