Check Out Geoff Duran’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Geoff Duran.

Hi Geoff, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Little Rock, AR in a family of creatives that inspired my love for art. My mom, an avid sewer, made my clothes and introduced me to fashion. Studying Fine Arts, Graphic Design and Advertising & PR, and foregoing a demanding degree in architecture to play basketball, brought me full circle with fashion. I went from designing T-shirts to working as a stylist at the Men’s Wearhouse and Saks Fifth Avenue where I began expressing my position on suiting. I wasn’t always able to find the fit and fabric I imagined, so I started designing custom clothing under my alias, Geoff Duran. Designing for entertainers like Kenny Lattimore, and athletes like Derek Fisher, as well as businessmen, I noticed they only wore a suit & tie or leisurewear. My desire to solve this overdressed-underdressed conundrum birth my attitude of tieless tailoring.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where I am today has come with many disappointments, failures, and wins. Timing, premature growth, having a clear vision to direct the team, and most importantly the synchrony between opportunity and finance have been speed bumps along the way. The biggest struggle has been the work-life balance in juggling a nine to five and building my brand. Through it all, my passion and creativity have endured and is why those two characteristics are the founding values of my brand.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a designer menswear brand, my mission is to refine cool and become a 21st Century pop-culture icon for hip American luxury. I’m in pursuit of refinement yet sartorial freedom from the traditional conservatism of dress codes. I believe men should have the freestyle to be tailored in their own right, only obligated to appropriateness. My informal-formal tieless tailoring is creative elegance that solves men’s cognitive dissonance between conventional proper attire and creative expression and relatively our overdressed-underdressed conundrum. My direction for GEOFF DURAN is unconventional appropriateness, guided by de-formalized refinement, distinguishing my mix of cool tailoring and street-inspired sportswear influenced by dandyism and hip-hop.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I can’t take all the credit for where I am today. My parents were my first mentors, critics, and cheerleaders. Without them, none of what I’m doing would be possible.

One of the reasons the Men’s Wearhouse I managed was so successful, was my mentor and Tailor, Vito Chiechi. He was integral in my confidence to start my own brand of tailored menswear.

AMAGEE was the name of my T-shirt line, co-owned with Derek Fisher; and the AMA in AMAGEE is short for my friend’s name Ahmad. Another thanks to Derek for entrusted me to design his sideline wardrobe in his inaugural season as Head coach of the New York Knicks, for which GQ Magazine voted him best dressed NBA Coach of 2014.

One of my first Celebrity clients was Kenny Lattimore, and I thank him also for entrusting me to design his wardrobe for his international tour. That collaborative collection was called “Taste”, inspired by the flavors of the hot fudge sundae.

Thanks to my brother, Gedidiah Starks @thestylishwriter for co-creating the GEOFF DURAN Mod Code, a poetic guide for men to live a modish life of style and substance.

Gedidiah Starks @thestylishwriter, Fred Nash @gfnsrtist, Brandon Carter @brandonmichaelstyle, Jon Narcisso @jonnarcissomillinery, and Emanuel Jackson @threadhause are business and creative confidants, and I thank them for always answering my call.

A fashion brand only looks as good as its models, photographers, stylists, and MUA’s. Thank you to @survivalofthecreatives @capstgram @jusdoesit @justchess @iamking_kev @lucratif1 @tate.foto @stan_is_aru @ @jamar_hart @ericb.me @ebonybrownstyle @chad_brokaw.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.geoffduran.com/
• Instagram: @geoffduran

Image Credits
Christiana Valenzuela @lucratif1 Robert Tate @tate.foto Mike Harris @mikeharrisphotola