Sergio Kurhajec
Collected by the hundreds, this designer’s signature shirts are one-of-a-kind art pieces that leave a lasting impression

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski

Award-winning fashion designer Robert Stock took early style cues from his father’s love of beautifully tailored dress shirts. He soon developed an appreciation for rich colors, textures, style, and sophisticated tailoring—all of which would influence his future designs.

Early on, and with no formal training, he met and befriended fellow Bronx native Ralph Lauren, who was also starting out at the time. During their subsequent creative partnership, the pair launched Lauren’s highly successful Chaps Collection, but that achievement was only the beginning of Stock’s upward trajectory in the luxury fashion world.

After parting with Lauren, Stock created Country Roads by Robert Stock. In 2000, about the same time he was feeling “uninspired” by menswear industry garments, Stock traveled to Paris for the Indigo textile show. There, he met fabric designer Graham Fowler, who had shirts on display featuring colorful, patterned textiles.

“He had one of each and I asked for 1,000 of each,” Stock recalled. “We decided to collaborate and came up with the name.” Noticing a void in the market, Stock began developing a line aimed at a luxury men’s wear niche, one with pops of color and provocative statement pieces. He launched Robert Graham in 2001 with a line of men’s sport shirts he described as “American eclectic,” contrasting interior cuffs an instantly recognizable feature of the design.

“I introduced the collection 15 years ago at the Collectors’ Show in New York City in a ten-by-ten booth,” Stock recalled. “I was about to open when two women in sunglasses approached and asked to look at my shirts. They bought all 42. It was an owner and a buyer from Fred Segal.” That year, luxury specialty stores Fred Segal and Neiman Marcus became Robert Graham’s first customers.

Since, Stock has received the Coty Award for Best American Sportswear Designer, the Cutty Sark Award for Leading American Men’s wear Designer, the 1984 Woolknit Design Award, the 2000 AMY Award from Young Menswear Association, and was honored by The Fashion Institute of Technology at the United Nations.

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Today, Robert Graham creations can be found in the brand’s freestanding stores across the country, in department stores like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdale’s, and in over 1,200 other premium retail locations globally. Over the years, pants, shorts, sport coats, outerwear, neckwear, accessories, hats, shoes, and denim have been added. Women’s wear was introduced in 2005 using the same types of color, contrast, and details.

“We don’t claim to be women’s experts yet,” Stock said. “We are constantly experimenting with it.” The company began offering sub-labels with slightly different aesthetics, but Stock decided to place most under the Robert Graham label as, “that label is the strongest. We keep the same product aesthetic and all the looks are incorporated.” The company’s X-Collection is still active, and as much as 98 percent of the inventory is designed in-house or by freelance designers around the world.

“Whatever they do for us is exclusive only to us, right down to small details like trims, zippers, and buttons,” Stock said, noting that no two shirts are identical. “In a particular collection, every shirt is independent. What has made us famous is how we trim and decorate the interior. Only the wearer knows. We try never to use the same trim twice and generally don’t repeat fabrics.”

That’s good news for the label’s legions of fans; some so avid they collect the distinctive shirts. Devotees include The Beach Boys, Blake Shelton, Boyz II Men, Curtis Stone, Dr. Oz, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Robinson Cano, and Sylvester Stallone.

“If celebrities like being noticed, they will wear more of our explosive designs,” Stock said. “Others choose more subtle shirts.” At personal appearances, his customers would approach him, revealing they had scores of shirts and other Robert Graham items. One even suggested he start a collectors club.

“I thought it was a good idea, and a way to award people who are passionate about the brand,” Stock said. The top ten of now “a few thousand members” have between 600 and 1,200 shirts. Collectors earn points for purchases, and qualify for a variety of perks in four different categories.
Upon reaching third tier “Curator” status, they, together with the Robert Graham Design Team, can select and name a limited-edition shirt from among five styles. The inside inscription reads: “This shirt has been designed exclusively for you.”

The highest club level is “Master Collector,” providing “the ultimate RG experience,” including an exclusive crested sweater or sport coat and an invitation to a special private event. Some are so passionate that they display collections in rooms in their homes with Robert Graham print ads on the walls and the same hangars used in stores. “It’s wearable art,” Stock said. “I’m asked to sign and date the shirts, which I do on the underneath neckband with a Sharpie.” Among those who have asked for signed items are Smokey Robinson’s wife, Mike Tyson, and Mariano Rivera. Stock also forged a relationship with race car driver Townsend Bell, becoming a primary sponsor for his Indianapolis 500 race car. Bell drove the “Robert Graham Special” in the race last May, and Stock commemorated the collaboration with an Indy 500 limited edition shirt featuring Robert Graham’s signature paisley, rally stripes, reflective center stripes, custom embroidery, race car motifs, and the 99th Indianapolis logo. Since so many of the collectors are fans of all things automotive, “It was a natural marriage,” Stock said.

In 2012, he designed a collection of Robert Graham sunglasses and prescription eyeglass frames. Last year, the company developed a line of fragrances and personal care products, and men’s loungewear will roll out this November. Belts, leather goods, and cufflinks are part of the collection, too, and Stock will introduce a high-end men’s luxury line in the fall catalog. A new British Isles-Inspired Collection for men and women debuted in September.

“We consider ourselves a lifestyle brand,” he explained. “We work closely on each category with our licensees to make sure the aesthetics and quality are consistent in color, fabrics, details, and embellishments.”

Stock is founder, co-chairman, and chief creative officer of the company, which has over 200 employees. Fifteen dedicated stores opened between 2011 and 2015, with two more scheduled in Texas and Florida this fall.

“It’s important that our shirts express how people feel, which is good and happy,” said the married father of two, who resides in Connecticut. “Owners get compliments when they wear them. That’s what’s behind the success of the brand. When I started, there were two, then three, then four [staffers]. We’re now a tremendous team. It’s far from just me; this is a people company. Some designers have been with me since the early days. It’s about all the people who work for us—including the business side…sales, marketing—all the pieces that make the final product. It takes good people.”

Robert Graham
264 West 40th Street, 10th Floor, NYC
855.214.3350 / robertgraham.us