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Aimé Leon Dore

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Aimé Leon Dore
Company typePrivate
IndustryFashion
FoundedMarch 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03)
FounderTeddy Santis
HeadquartersQueens, New York
Websiteaimeleondore.com

Aimé Leon Dore (pronounced ah-mey lee-on door) is a fashion and lifestyle brand founded in March 2014 by Teddy Santis.[1] Based in Queens, New York,[2][1] the brand's flagship store is located on Mulberry Street in Nolita, Manhattan.[3][4][5][6]

History

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The company was founded by Teddy Santis in 2014 with the original plan to name it "Aimé", the word for "loved" in French. This proved difficult to trademark because of how broad of a word it was so he worked with his wife to come up with a new name and decided on "Aimé Leon Dore". "Leon" being his father's nickname while "Dore" comes from his full first name, "Theodore".[7]

In 2015, the brand collaborated with Puma on an update of Puma's classic State sneaker.[8] In 2016, ALD opened its first physical retail location on Mott St. in New York's Nolita neighborhood.[9][10] The shop quickly developed a reputation for its strong community, evolving interior (which changed with each seasonal collection), and its mysterious exterior (with curtains hung over the door and street-facing windows). In 2017, Aimé Leon Dore collaborated with KITH on hoodies, t-shirts, pullover sailing jackets, pants, and caps with a nautical theme and anchors, boat paddles, and evil eye iconography inspired by Mykonos.[11][12]

In 2019, ALD moved to a larger storefront on nearby Mulberry St that also has an attached nostalgic coffee shop.[13] The new store gave greater expression to the brand's creative vision and included a living-room style interior evoking classic Parisian homes, an installation from New York artist Tyrrell Winston, as a well as Café Leon Dore, a Mediterranean coffee shop inspired by Santis' Greek roots with outdoor seating. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times reviewed ALD's Mulberry flagship in his column "Critical Shopper." The piece described ALD as a post-streetwear heritage brand.[14]

To date, ALD has collaborated with New Balance on three major projects spanning three seasons (Spring/Summer 2019, Fall/Winter 2020, and Spring/Summer 2020). Each project has seen ALD deliver its unique take on New Balance's heritage and design in ways which pay homage to life in New York. The inaugural project in April 2019 focused on NB's iconic 997 silhouette;[15] a collection featuring the 990v2 and 990v5 followed in November 2019;[16] and the brand delivered a project featuring the 827 (the first time the shoe had been revived following its launch over 20 years ago) in March 2020.[17]

Store interior

In February 2020, ALD released the first-of-its-kind ALD 964, a one-of-one custom 1990 Porsche 964 911 Carrera 4 restored with Porsche's blessing and support, the first time they had lent their official backing to a vintage 911 restoration. The project included a video campaign, limited-edition capsule collection, and physical activation at the Deitch gallery on Wooster St. in New York's SoHo district.[18]

In July 2023, ALD collaborated with Greek Luxury Rib manufacture Technohull and created the Aimé Leon Dore Technohull 38 Grand Sport Power Boat.[19]Powered by twin 450 horsepower Mercury engines, the boat combines power, endurance, and sportiness, reaching speeds in the range of 90 mph. Alongside the boat collaboration, ALD created unique clothing and accessories with Technohull's branding are now resold for higher than original the price.[20]

A Porsche on display inside the Aimé Leon Dore flagship location

Description

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The brand's design is influenced by classic hip hop and basketball, and Teddy Santis's experiences growing up between Queens and Greece in the 1990s.[21] Santis has also credited the early-2000s streetwear boutique "Nom De Guerre" as one of his "biggest inspirations[22]." NDG was considered one of the earliest streetwear stores to blend high-end fashion with sneaker culture[23] and its discreet boutique was located in a basement on the corner of Broadway and Bleecker, just minutes away from ALD's New York flagship.

The brand has also collaborated with Woolrich,[24][25] Suicoke,[26][27] Timberland,[28] New Balance,[29][30][31] New Era,[32] Paraboot,[33] Drake's, Porsche[34] and Rimowa.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Woolf, Jake (2014-12-15). "Exclusive: Meet Aimé Leon Dore, New York's Coolest Young Label". GQ. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  2. ^ "Aimé Leon Dore for Men FW19 Collection | SSENSE". www.ssense.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  3. ^ "FLAGSHIP". Aimé Leon Dore. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. ^ Farra, Emily (2019-05-14). "How Aimé Leon Dore Became the Coolest Store in Nolita". Vogue. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  5. ^ What Is Aimé Leon Dore? Marc Richardson, January 7, 2020
  6. ^ The Spirit of 1994 Is Alive and Well in Aimé Leon Dore Jon Caramanica, New York Times, June 6, 2019
  7. ^ "What Aimé Leon Dore's Success Says About the State of Streetwear". Complex. 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  8. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE FOR PUMA". Aimé Leon Dore. 2015-05-16. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  9. ^ How Aimé Leon Dore Became the Coolest Store in Nolita Emily Farra, May 14, 2019
  10. ^ "Aime Leon Dore concept shop". Highsnobiety.
  11. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (2017-03-23). "Kith and Aimé Leon Dore Channel the Island of Mykonos in Their New Collaboration". Complex. Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.
  12. ^ Sawyer, Jonathan (2017-03-23). "KITH & Aimé Leon Dore Look to Greece For New "Mykonos" Collection". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  13. ^ "Aime Leon Dore New York Cafe". Hypebeast. 21 February 2019.
  14. ^ Caramanica, Jon (5 June 2019). "Aime Leon Dore". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "New Balance collab lookbook". Hypebeast. 11 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Life in the balance campaign". Hypebeast. 14 November 2019.
  17. ^ "New Balance collaboration". Hypebeast. 2 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Porsche Carrera campaign". Hypebeast. 3 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Aime Leon Dore 38 Grand Sport Technohull". ALD Official Website.
  20. ^ "ALD Technohull Collection". ALD Official Website.
  21. ^ "What is Aime Leon Dore". Grailed.
  22. ^ https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/the-new-york-we-fuck-with
  23. ^ "Remembering Nom de Guerre, the Most Influential Streetwear Brand You May Have Never Heard of".
  24. ^ "Aimé Leon Dore for Woolrich". Aimé Leon Dore. 2018-01-17. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  25. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / WOOLRICH 2019". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-10-25. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  26. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / SUICOKE". Aimé Leon Dore. 2018-10-05. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  27. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / SUICOKE". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-09-11. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  28. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / TIMBERLAND". Aimé Leon Dore. 2018-11-11. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  29. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / NEW BALANCE". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-04-11. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  30. ^ "Aimé Leon Dore / New Balance". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-11-11. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  31. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / NEW BALANCE CAMPAIGN". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-11-11. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  32. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / NEW ERA". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-04-30. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  33. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / PARABOOT". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-10-18. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  34. ^ "AIMÉ LEON DORE / DRAKE'S". Aimé Leon Dore. 2019-11-01. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  35. ^ "Suitcase & Travel Chest RIMOWA × Aimé Leon Dore - RIMOWA". Retrieved 2024-06-29.
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