He establishes an emotional connection with customers that can 'remember back when' and an anti-cool/cool cache with customers who cannot. He has a very skillful, talented team in his back room and while it's been said time and again, it seems no one wants to think about them presenting clothes the way they do on purpose. They find charm in emotion; things being stupid, a little wrong, a little human, a little down to earth, a little 'trying too hard'. There's real heart in his design, perhaps one of the best discourses present on American fashion design bearing the heritage of American sportswear, society's clambering for the impressions of wealth and conflicts that present themselves when underground tries to go mainstream. Personally, when it comes to indie designers, the lack of real discourse, which I feel is foundation to good design in all executions, is what keeps them from being substantial (exceptions to every 'rule', of course).
