What is the overall philosophy of Death to Tennis?
W— Well, when we first started it was just about making good clothes. When we started doing the brand, everyone was doing Americana. The shops were selling cut leather bags for your ax to carry in Williamsburg, and everyone had a big beard, a checkered shirt, and skintight pants, and that look wasn't really us. We kind of do streetwear, but it’s a little bit more adult, you know, elevated. That’s always been the fit so, that was always really the plan, just to kind of make the nice clothes that we wanted.
So you mentioned the word “adult”. What do you think makes something “adult”?
E— I think the level of tailoring, you know. It’s not too flashy in terms of overtly logo heavy. The way we use colors, the way we use shapes and forms, I think it speaks to a higher you. I’m doing 50s, but I'm also doing new romantic, I’m also doing a little David Bowie, I’m doing a little Miles Davis, I’m playing with eras. Your ability to play with eras and reference makes you grown up. Your ability to stay away from too much BBC and too much egoism makes you a little off of the beaten path. You get me? The road less traveled.
What would you want someone to feel when they are wearing your clothes?
W— Well, I want everyone to feel good, right? You want people to feel good, feel comfortable, feel relaxed. We don't do anything skin tight, seams, and shit. It’s very much comfort-based. That's kind of the fit that we're referencing when we talk about streetwear. We grew up in a time where no one really wears suits anymore. In the last two years, everyone wore sweatpants. When we say adult, it's more elevated, because (with) a lot of streetwear brands, you know, you see a guy in a streetwear brand and he looks like a 12-year-old boy. We are just trying to give you that fit but in a way that's a little bit more sophisticated.