On February 6th, New Orleans Saints football star Marcus Williams opened Grungy Gentleman’s 12th runway show at M1-5 Lounge in Tribeca.

The 28-look collection defined athletic tailoring by combining luxury fabrications with sportswear silhouettes. The outfits featured hints of leopard, southwest inspired wool, and custom-created static fabric.

While many designers are trying to blur gender lines in fashion, Jace Lipstein of Grungy Gentleman stays true to the brand ethos—its masculinity. He defines masculinity in his brand as “confidence.”

“We always experiment with color, but we do it with accents to give that little flair, that little extra swagger. I’m not that type of guy who would wear something that’s like ‘woah, that’s a lot,’” the designer told The Urban Watch after the show.

Kody Onyiuke, host, TV reporter and model, who walked the runway for Grungy Gentleman for the second time, said that he loves the way the brand “blends textured artforms, sports attire, high fashion, and the entertainment world into a fantastic menswear brand.”

He said that masculinity should not have a single definition and that men are multifaceted. “The core of Grungy Gentleman is in its powerful name,” Onyiuke said. “All men, whether they show it or not, have an edgy, “grungy” side, and also a focused, refined side of a “gentleman.”

Onyiuke shared that he perceives Jace Lipstein more like a big brother rather than just a designer he works with. “Jace, his team, and the entire brand makes you feel like part of the brotherhood,” he said.

And it will remain a brotherhood. It would take changing the core of the brand to make it more gender-fluid and inclusive, as the name in itself—Grungy Gentleman—is inherently gendered.

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