The 24-year-old designer Joseph Davide has brought his brand of distinctive menswear to downtown Westport for a limited time presentation.
His pop-up, selling the Spring/Summer 2023 Collection, launched on June 10 with an exclusive party at the space in Bedford Square that Davide intends to occupy until August.
“I’m designing right now in terms of what I think the modern man should dress like,” Davide said of the brand’s philosophy. “But I’ve also been able to reach women as well which has been a nice addition.”
Among the women spotted wearing the brand is the music icon Rihanna, who was recently caught wearing the $895 Stella D’Italia Cardigan featuring lines of red stars down both sleeves. Male stars spotted in Davide pieces include rapper A$AP Rocky and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Tarik Black.
Black and Davide played football together at Cheshire Academy, where they became teammates after Davide was convinced to become a kicker following years of playing soccer.
“That kind of took over my life,” Davide recalled of the course life took after he made the switch. “I was a Division I football player at Temple University, but after doing a year and a half there I realized this was not really my calling, so I chose to drop out. I was also trying to research and study fashion as much as I could. By the time I was 15 or 16 I knew I wanted to start a brand, but I was focusing more on football.”
His overriding interest in fashion started at a young age, according to Davide, with a fascination was sparked by a 2007 GQ article about his father Joe Tacopina, an attorney who is best known today for serving as former President Donald Trump’s lawyer in E. Jean Carroll’s civil battery and defamation lawsuit. The GQ coverage noted Tacopina’s flair for upmarket style.
“I remember reading that at the age of eight or nine years old and being fascinated with the fashion of course, but not only the fashion,” Davide said. “The lifestyle that comes with luxury, what watches you wear and what wine you drink and where you’re vacationing and everything like that. I was so young I couldn’t really comprehend that much, but I just knew.”
“I was always willing to take risks in fashion and with my dress code,” he added. “I definitely remember when I was a kid, everyone’s wearing sweatpants and I was the first kid to bust out corduroys. I started that trending in elementary school.”
With designs that spring mainly from that passion, Davide is open about not having formal training or experience outside of being an informed consumer of luxury brands. While that lends a unique approach to the styling, he admits it has played a part in some of the challenges he has faced when he started his business in 2020.
“The first manufacturer I worked with pretty much robbed me of like $10,000,” Davide said. “I was young, I was naïve, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I put a deposit down for $10,000 and they didn’t deliver anything I was promised. That was the first thing I realized in fashion; this industry is very cutthroat. I don’t recommend it if you don’t really love what you’re doing.”
Despite the initial setback, Davide found a manufacturer based in Los Angeles who made a good match and was able to work with the high-quality fabrics he insists on using in every piece. He worked with Blue & Cream, a boutique with locations on both sides of Long Island Sound, to learn more about the trade and made $10,000 in sales in the two months after he brought his first line to fruition.
“From there I kind of had the idea that okay, this is going well but I’m not keeping all the money to myself,” he said. “So, maybe I should do a pop-up for a month or two in Westport to see how it does, and the first night we sold over $20,000.”
While his hometown of Westport has shown some interest in his designs, Davide said it isn’t exactly his target demographic.
“I chose Westport, of course, because I’m from here , me and my girlfriend have an apartment downtown, and we see it as a challenge,” he said. “My demographic is going to be New York, LA, eventually Europe. But when we were talking about it we said if we can sell here, we can theoretically sell anywhere.”
“They love how I’m a young kid from Westport doing this, and I’m definitely offering something that this town has seen before, but I don’t know,” Davide mused about the fit. “It’s a wealthy town and people spend money on clothes I’m sure, but in terms of $350 t-shirts, I don’t know a lot of people around here that do that. It’s more suits and business stuff.”
Davide’s current collection ranges from the $175 Icon Logo Tank to the $3,500 Hooded Bomber Jacket, with a line of pants including $950 silk trousers and $550 sweatpants with the Davide logo. According to Davide, the luxury pricing makes sense.
“The fabrics are top quality, and I’m designing everything meticulously myself,” he said. “It’s not like I’m ordering a bunch of bulk t-shirts. Every inch of the shirt, every design, every stitch is designed by me based on how I think the shirt should feel. The last component is lifestyle. If a kid buys a pair of Air Jordans and puts them on, they feel a certain way. That’s what I’m trying to do: you put on a shirt or a pair of pants and feel like you’re part of that lifestyle.”
