Aimé Leon Dore, Beyond streetwear

Aimé Leon Dore is an American brand founded by Teddy Santis, born in New York and considered the forerunner of post-streetwear. Getting inspiration in an innovative way from the 90s rap trends of the New York suburbs, Aimé Leon Dore is the conjunction between streetwear and elegance, with a nod to hipster and preppy style. The Aimé Leon Dore men's clothing collection includes maxi wool coats, double-breasted jackets, embroidered shirts, knitted cardigans, padded jacket decorated with prints and motifs, with or without zip, with a strongly 90s imprint. These are combined with basketball hats and t-shirts, with logos such as the one of the New York Yankees, also used for the Aimé Leon Dore men's accessories collection, which includes bucket hats and berets, both perfect examples of Santis's style. The logos are also repurposed in the line of men's accessories as well as in that of men's jewelry, including pendants, rings and brooches with a sports theme. There is no shortage of bags and small leather goods, in addition to the men's shoe line, with retro-style moccasins or sneakers.

The founding principle of the Aimé Leon Dore brand is the very idea of the family, understood as a place of memories and identified by the designer with the streets of Queens, the place of his birth and growth. Through memory and childhood places Santis creates collections starting from his own experience, giving value to memories, to everything that has been, recognizing the importance of the past and revisiting it with elements in a modern key. The link with the roots is also present in the production, carried out exclusively in New York, to maintain control over the quality of the products. 

The vision of the designer Teddy Santis has undoubtedly been influenced by his personal history. He is not a designer who came out of prestigious fashion schools, in fact he opened his first boutique in New York after having worked for years in the family diner, forced to reinvent himself when the big multinationals hypothesized to break down the parental structure.The reworking of streetwear combined with formalwear has led to several important collaborations such as the one in 2018 with Puma, then with Timberland, New Balance (which will bring his appointment as creative director of the brand in 2021), Woolrich, New Era and Nike, as well as the one in the field of design with Porsche. Of note is the opening in New York of its flagship store, defined as the best menswear store by GQ in 2021, and of the Café Leon Dore, a location with a Parisian design with minimal interiors in white wood and Persian carpets.