Aimé Leon Dore (pronounced ''ay-mey lee-on door'') is a fashion and lifestyle brand founded in March 2014 by Teddy Santis. Based in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, the brand's

flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

is located on Mulberry Street in Nolita, Manhattan.

Etymology

The company was founded by Teddy Santis in 2014 with the original plan to name it "Aimé", the word for "loved" in French. This proved difficult to trademark because of how broad of a word it was so he worked with his wife to come up with a new name and decided on adding his father's nickname "Leon" and "Dore" from his first name, "Theodore".

History

In 2015, the brand collaborated with Puma on an update of Puma's classic State sneaker. In 2016, ALD opened its first physical retail location on Mott St. in New York's Nolita neighborhood. The shop quickly developed a reputation for its strong community, evolving interior (which changed with each seasonal collection), and its mysterious exterior (with curtains hung over the door and street-facing windows). In 2017, Aimé Leon Dore collaborated with KITH on hoodies, t-shirts, pullover sailing jackets, pants, and caps with a nautical theme and

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

s, boat paddles, and

evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...

iconography inspired by Mykonos. In 2019, ALD moved to a larger storefront on nearby Mulberry St that also has an attached nostalgic coffee shop. The new store gave greater expression to the brand's creative vision and included a living-room style interior evoking classic Parisian homes, an installation from New York artist Tyrrell Winston, as a well as Café Leon Dore, a Mediterranean coffee shop inspired by Santis'

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

roots with outdoor seating. Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewed ALD's Mulberry flagship in his column "Critical Shopper." The piece described ALD as a post-streetwear heritage brand. To date, ALD has collaborated with New Balance on three major projects spanning three seasons (Spring/Summer 2019, Fall/Winter 2020, and Spring/Summer 2020). Each project has seen ALD deliver its unique take on New Balance's heritage and design in ways that pay homage to life in New York. The inaugural project in April 2019 focused on NB's iconic 997 silhouette; a collection featuring the 990v2 and 990v5 followed in November 2019; and the brand delivered a project featuring the 827 (the first time the shoe had been revived following its launch over 20 years ago) in March 2020. In February 2020, ALD released the first-of-its-kind ALD 964, a one-of-one custom 1990 Porsche 964 911 Carrera 4 restored with Porsche's blessing and support, the first time they had lent their official backing to a vintage 911 restoration. The project included a video campaign, limited-edition capsule collection, and physical activation at the Deitch gallery on Wooster St. in New York's

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

district. In July 2023, ALD collaborated with Greek Luxury Rib manufacture Technohull and created the Aimé Leon Dore Technohull 38 Grand Sport Power Boat. Powered by twin 450 horsepower Mercury engines, the boat combines power, endurance, and sportiness, reaching speeds in the range of 90 mph. Alongside the boat collaboration, ALD created unique clothing and accessories with Technohull's branding are now resold for higher than the original price.

Description

The brand's design is influenced by classic hip hop and basketball, and Teddy Santis's experiences growing up between

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in the 1990s. Santis has also credited the early-2000s streetwear boutique "Nom De Guerre" as one of his "biggest inspirations." NDG was considered one of the earliest streetwear stores to blend high-end fashion with sneaker culture and its discreet boutique was located in a basement on the corner of Broadway and Bleecker, just minutes away from ALD's New York flagship. The brand has also collaborated with Woolrich, Suicoke, Timberland, New Balance, New Era, Paraboot, Drake's,

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

and

Rimowa Rimowa GmbH (), often stylized as RIMOWA, is a luxury luggage manufacturer. The company was founded in 1898, in Cologne, Germany. Rimowa suitcases are widely known for their parallel aluminium grooves, which have become characteristic of the bra ...

References

External links

*
These Aimé Leon Dore Kicks Will Make Sneakerheads Jealous
Jake Woolf, GQ magazine, March 16, 2017
Aimé Leon Dore's New Collection is the Spring Style Upgrade You've Been Looking For

Esquire magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of ...

March 10, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aimé Leon Dore Clothing companies of the United States Clothing brands High fashion brands Chinatown, Manhattan Clothing companies based in New York City

Etymology

History

Description

See also

References

External links