Have you noticed J.Crew’s ineffably cool evolution of late? Chris Black, founder of consultancy Done to Death Projects, is, in part, to thank. Black is an ideas man. “All I’ve ever been able to offer in my career is a point of view,” he says. “I don’t have a lot of hard skills.” As well as J.Crew, he’s worked with brands from Thom Browne to New Balance to Balenciaga behind the scenes to reach ever-ambivalent customers.
Now, he’s parsing his creative intuition to his own clothing brand, Hanover. It’s an all-American look, specializing in jeans, graphic tees, polos and crewneck sweaters. It’s all American made using cotton by manufacturers in Los Angeles. For now, it’s sold exclusively online, and most importantly it’s all $300 or less.
“As a consumer and as a person who works as a consultant with a lot of brands, the things that hit the sweet spot for me are few and far between — and part of it is due to price,” Black says.
After getting his start managing and touring with a band, Black moved into the media sphere, and now works at its nexus. He consults with brands under Done to Death, hosts a podcast by and for “bi-coastal elites” with dj-turned-podcaster Jason Stewart, and has contributed to publications from GQ to New York Magazine. Having worked on the backend for so long, Black has the business savvy to back up his creative instincts, and believes that this is what attracted his business partners, Vinod Kasturi and Paul Shaked of holding company Meissonier Group.
