The Other New York Clothing Brand Thriving on Horsepower
A young entrepreneur who knows he's onto something good. He independently builds his New York-based clothing brand into a sought-after lifestyle label, swelling word-of-mouth buzz swiftly boosting his hard work. Celebrities and their stylists come calling. Product sells out. He has arrived.
This is the Ralph Lauren origin story. But it's also the tale of Max Siegelman.
In not just barely four years, Siegelman has grown Siegelman Stable, the upstart clothing imprint of his family business, into an unsung juggernaut. It took a lot of nose-to-grindstone effort, some thoughtful fabrication and, certainly, some luck but here we are.
In fairness, comparing an emerging fashion hustler to Ralph, the epitome of the American dream and the godfather of DIY designers, might feel a bit pat. But another relevant throughline unite RL and Siegelman Stable.
Like Lauren, whose equestrian branding sold consumers on an enviable epicurean vision, Siegelman Stable is fueled by horsepower, almost literally.
The company was founded in Newark in the early '80s as Robert Siegelman Racing Stable by Max's father, an established horse trainer.
A far cry from Lauren's urban upbringing in the Bronx. But different strokes, you know?
Really, Max Siegelman is a student of Ralph: He's even said that he watched the 2019 documentary Very Ralph "a jillion times."
And now, to some degree, he's living it.
"There are times where I make sure to take a step back and say to myself, 'how TF did this happen?'" Max Siegelman tells me. "Four years ago, I was making hats and sweatshirts and shipping them from my studio in Brooklyn — when I started doing this, it was mid-pandemic."
The caps and sweaters stitched with Siegelman Stable's harness-racing illustration are worn far beyond the Big Apple but they're also darn-near omnipresent across the city's boroughs.
It's actually harder to find a Chelsea Equinox or a buzzy LES bar where there isn't at least one bit of Siegelman Stable branding on display, such is the power of the brand's extreme reach.
As one fashion writer said earlier this year, "The whole West Village is wearing this hat."
Scroll through Siegelman Stable's tagged Instagram photos, for instance, and observe the staggering spread of smiling faces clad in the label's gear, a new-school evolution of the people-first appeal fostered by Ralph Lauren's necktie trunk sales.
"Seeing the growing response is incredibly rewarding and validating for the hard work we put into the brand," Siegelman notes. "The word-of-mouth bump is a mix of things; our authenticity, storytelling, quality, and the strong sense of community it fosters among our customers."
A great deal of the appeal, of course, comes from the implied urbanity of Siegelman Stable's equestrian logo. It's a more complex rendering than Ralph's perfected pony but speaks to a similar sense of well-heeled discernment.
Part of what works so well, so says Siegelman, is the illustration's human hand.
"The designs are imperfect [and] recognizable," he explains. "Shit, my mom hand-drew these first two logos in the 80’s. But I am a true believer in quality. Design is the perfect storm of art and science — throw in culture as the difference-maker. Stay consistent! I can’t yell it loud enough."
Also crucial to Siegelman Stable's success is the celebrity factor.
That people are organically discovering Siegelman Stable from Kendall Jenner, Future, Travis Kelce, Aaron Judge and Carmelo Anthony wearing it does not go unappreciated. But that they're wearing it at all is huge.
"Some of these people can wear any brand in the world and they’re choosing us," Siegelman says. "If you told me as a kid [that] I’d do collab hats with the Knicks one day, I would’ve laughed it off."
Here, there are additional see parallels with the late Off-White™ founder Virgil Abloh, whom Siegelman also cites as an inspiration and previously worked with while working as a brand consultant (Abloh similarly learned much from Ralph).
In the abstract: Scrappy label with a sharp eye for catchy graphic lingo invites celebrity co-signs — some organic, some fostered by targeted freebies — to fan widespread intrigue.
Meaningful cosigns often dictate whether brands live and die today, and Siegelman Stable is very much living. But it's also not in a rush.
"We are slowly, organically growing our audience," Siegelman says. "We’ve gained traction. A couple of years ago, we were still in our growth mode."
Siegelman Stable's latest collection, launching July 11 on its web store, is a testament to its growth.
"This collection introduces new elements and ideas — including detailed embroidery and hardware — that will pave the way for future capsules," Siegelman explains.
It's a lot more than caps, suffice to say, though it's got plenty of those.
A variety of new styles also debut here, including some comparably adventurous bits that push the brand's design cues into previously uncharted territory.
But new is good. Heck, as Ralph and Virgil were well aware, new is progress.
"It is impossible to make every right decision and I make mistakes every day," says Siegelman. "There is no playbook, everyone's making it up, so make it up for yourself to make it work. Moving forward is part of the growth."
