Fashion Interview-UNIS

Q. What are you wearing today?

Eunice: Men’s Unis shirt, APC New Cure jeans, shoeless

Q. What was the last big purchase you made on clothing?

Eunice: A lot of vintage things but nothing too big, I did buy a new pair of shoes from Barneys that were pretty expensive though.

I barely shop anymore, I think my favorite place to go is actually the Rose Bowl in California, there’s a giant flea market there that we fly out to California just to go to. It’s so much fun, where else can you walk around in LA? You can seriously spend six hours there and find something different in every stall. We stock the store with vintage pieces from the flea market all the time, and along the way if I pick something up for myself, why not?

Q. Who has the best menswear in New York right now?

Eunice: Besides Unis? Haha probably Dries Van Noten, I like his collection season after season

Q. What are a few of your favorite brands?

Eunice: I think Freemans Sporting Goods is pretty awesome for guys and Isabella Morant for women, even if its super trendy here and kind of old lady in France.

Q. What would you like Unis to be known for?

Eunice: Unpretentious, very easy clothing. From the beginning I thought that if you bought everything from Unis then nobody would have to know that, and this was in a time when everything was super big branded. Overall just classic clothing I think.

Q. Who is the Unis guy?

Eunice: Intelligent, savvy, I’m sure a lot of people would kill for the customers we get in the store because a lot of times its father and son, so we get a wide range.

Q. What are you most proud of this season?

Eunice: I had a lot of fun with our shorts, different prints and things, that you can wear as regular shorts or swim shorts, and they’re incredibly light and nice.

I know some guys may not think of them as swim shorts or vice versa as regular shorts, but it’s really about the cool guy wearing something because he knows its cool, no matter what its purpose, and that’s a really attractive trait in a guy.

Q. Where do you go get a drink after work?

Eunice: It used to be Lovely Day, but they closed after a fire in the building. I do a lot of neighborhood places, though sometimes we go to the Bowery Hotel, usually get a Prosecco, which is an amazing Italian take on Champagne that is really affordable, like $10 or $12 for a bottle. Oh and then there’s a St.Germain spritzer, which is super refreshing in the summer.

Q. Favorite restaurant in the city?

Eunice: Right now we really like The Smile for lunch, on Bond between Lafayette and Bowery. Then I like Hasaki on 9th street for dinner, and a lot of actual Japanese people go, which is always a good sign.

I know this isn’t very Japanese of me, but I always have to get a spicy tuna roll, a hijiki salad and then whatever special sushi they have there at the time.

Oh and Ballotto’s on Houston – It’s great Italian and the owner still sits at the door, the atmosphere is pretty unique and reminds me of what New York may have been like 40 years ago

Q. What would you dream collaboration or job be?

Eunice: A bicycle, I think designing a bike would be really cool, like the frame, fenders, paint, etc., designing it in a more modern way but with a vintage feel would probably be the way I would do it

Q. What’s next for Unis?

Eunice: Well we’re really a neighborhood brand, we tend to do small things at the shop that are centered around the neighborhood, like an ice cream truck or small party or something. Other than that we’re just working on next seasons collection and making sure our store is a place we would want to shop

Q. What would you name as a few Inspirations/Influences?

Eunice: Because I’m a girl designing menswear, I look to a lot of my cool guy friends for inspiration, thinking about my coolest friends and meshing their style’s together. I use a few of them as muses since I cant really look at myself for inspiration for clothes for a guy.

When I design though I usually imagine the ideal guy and when I started he was kind of a surfer but as I’ve matured, so has he, so now he’s a little more intellectual, and with that the line has grown up as well.

It’s my neighborhood too, I’m definitely aware of the downtown rock scene and the uptown super chic, and because of where my neighborhood is situated my style is kind of in between, the Unis guy is a mix.

Q. What will you never wear?

Eunice: Headband for me, and too much chest hair or badly washed italian jeans for guys

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