Check out our Founder/Creative Director, Bobby Berk in the Behind The Scenes of
Male Moxie
by By Rebecca Kleinman & Luis R. Rigual |
Miami magazine | March 29, 2012
Classic. Avant-garde. Fearless. Our eight sartorial
superlatives prove the best style is always personal and tastefully on
point.
The Daredevil
When native New Yorker
Brian Gorman was scouting the
first location for his chain of gay boutique hotels (Western desert
destinations are next), he remembered how South Beach holidays had
always put him at ease. It was the city’s freedom of expression that
enticed him to open his Lords Hotel smack-dab in the middle of the Art
Deco District. “It’s a sanctuary for anyone who’s different or simply
enjoys being around diversity,” says Gorman. Pointing to the hotel’s
neighborhood and its movie set-like quality as culprits, Gorman has been
known to give in to his more theatrical side when it comes to his
wardrobe in the Magic City. At a recent hotel party, guests were abuzz
about his ensemble of Osklen drop-crotch pants, a Jeremy Scott tee and
Lanvin blazer. Next on his sartorial to-do? The perfect ensemble for the
Lords’ upcoming Bollywood Weekend in September. “I’m thinking
Indian-inspired prints,” says Gorman. Perhaps a new pair of those
drop-crotch slacks? “Absolutely!”
The Closer
In a city of million-dollar listings and the types that go with it, it’s
not easy to stand above the rest. But Chicago transplant
Dario Stoka
knows the trick is to zip the big talk and keep it humble—of course, a
killer ensemble never hurts. After all, in Stoka’s world, you are what
you sell. “I’m about 24-hour service, so I basically live in my work
wardrobe,” says the square-jawed Argentina native who’s one of Zilbert
Realty Group’s top earners. For Stoka, colorful pocket squares add flair
to his uniform of designer blazers (usually Etro and Armani) and great
fitting jeans (Diesel and AG Adriano Goldschmied are particular
favorites). He credits his personal shopper at Neiman Marcus in Coral
Gables for always keeping him looking his best. The rest of the shopping
is done hands-on during European holidays with his wife Katy and their
two kids. And because he spends most of his time accommodating other
people’s schedules, he treats himself to house calls by local tailor
Jason Courtney for Tom James bespoke suits and dress shirts. “He’s
obsessed with clothes so his energy rubs off on people,” says Stoka. “If
I buy a shirt off the rack that’s not Dolce & Gabbana, off it goes
to Jason. He’s made a killing with all the stuff I’ve tweaked.”
The Connoisseur
Few on-air personalities make Latin American stars like Shakira and Gloria Estefan quake in their stilettos more than
Rodner Figueroa,
the Joan Rivers-meets-Ryan Seacrest of Spanish television. The debonair
Venezuelan rules the red carpet for Univision and hosts its weekly
entertainment and fashion roundtable. “My nicknames are ‘El Fashionista’
or ‘The Terror’ depending on my critique,” says Figueroa, who learned
style from his mother and has a penchant for Dolce & Gabbana sports
jackets and custom suits by New York’s Carlos Campos. “But nothing sheds
a decade like fitted dress shirts and preppy polos,” he adds. True to
form, Figueroa can’t help voicing advice whenever fashion is the topic
at hand. On bow-ties: “Formal.” On Miami men not tucking their shirts in
at night: “Ghastly!” On South Beach girls in too-tight mini-dresses:
“Showing everything is the opposite of sexy.” And on suffering in the
name of style: “Suck it up and squeeze into those skinny jeans already!”
The Rebel
How timely that
Bobby Berk has the 99 percent’s back
when it comes to interior design. After developing his eye at industry
behemoths like Restoration Hardware, the democratic Midwesterner filled
the market’s gaping hole between mass-market and high design with his
upscale-yet-approachable furniture showrooms around the country. That
his original namesake store in New York not only weathered the recession
but begat satellites in Miami and Atlanta is testament that DIY
decorators desire cool quality in one shot. Berk approaches personal
style in the same vein. “I’m not a Bal Harbour Shops kind of guy,” he
says, favoring brands like G-Star, AllSaints Spitalfields and RRL
instead. When in Miami, where he lives part of the year, Berk’s everyday
look of layered tanks, button-downs and knits with lace-up boots
definitely nods to his big-city boy ways. “Being in New York has
definitely intensified my desire to be different and individual,” says
Berk. “In a sea of millions of people, you really have to set yourself
apart to make a statement.”
The Renaissance Man
Darren Star may have to produce a
Sex and the City-type special just to document the frenzy that is sure to ensue once
John Brevard’s
sculptural shoe collection hits shelves this fall. The Carrie set has
already had a taste of the architect/artist’s alchemy-inspired aesthetic
through his fine jewelry. During Art Basel, he unveiled a slice of his
universe via a Midtown pop-up showroom that relocates to a permanent
space in Coral Gables come summer. “I wear a lot of dark hues and
minimalist cuts,” says the avid philosophy reader of wardrobe favorites
like Helmut Lang denim and Theory tees accessorized with bunched,
lightweight cotton scarves and D&G knitted skullcaps “to ward off
Florida’s notoriously chilly air conditioning.” A pair of Ago zip-up
boots in patinaed leather by John Varvatos is his seasonal splurge. He
swears his look gets more tropical while boating or
wakeboarding—pastimes that make the Miami native stick around our
shores.
The Young Gun
Fashion designer and Florida Panhandle native
Benjamin Jay
has learned a thing or two while modeling for big guns like Estée
Lauder, Asics and TAG Heuer. After receiving warm praise for Something
Rebellious, a line of soft T-shirts with hand-drawn printed graphics, he
segued into an eponymous, full women’s collection specializing in flowy
tanks, leggings and mixed materials like neoprene and mesh. His
collection has landed in 70 boutiques around the world in less than a
year. For Jay, it’s not the garments that tell the whole story, but
rather the accessories and shoes, which he says can make or break a
look. Oddly enough, the budding designer isn’t a shopping fan. “When I
do bite the bullet, it’s at indie shops rather than the mall,” he says,
citing Paul Smith silver high-tops and J. Lindeberg slim-cut jeans in
dark washes as musts. His latest thing? Tossing on an unbuttoned plaid
shirt in lieu of a blazer or cardigan on his way out the door. “Having
that extra layer is always nice,” he says. “It shows you put a little
extra effort into your outfit.”
The Dandy
Ralph Lauren types have nothing on
Tito Gaudenzi. The
Swiss-American polo player and tournament producer is as well-known for
his classic-yet-don’t-be-afraid-to-stand-out choices as for his mallet
swing. Wardrobe staples for Gaudenzi include colorful trousers, loafers
and dress shirts, which he’s even been known to wear to the beach with
swim trunks. Not a hard-core devotee of “polo style” in any way,
Gaudenzi cites Patrick Hellmann, Paul Smith, PRPS, Incotex and
Ermenegildo Zegna as his favorite brands. “I don’t like Lauren as much
as people expect,” he says. Also on his must list: watches, of which
Gaudenzi has many. “Most are from winning matches or sponsors I work
with,” he says, pointing to a much-cherished Zenith El Primero that he
received after emerging MVP in Austria’s Valartis Bank Snow Arena Polo
World Cup in 2006. “Maybe it’s because I grew up in Berlin, which is
where Eastern and Western Europe clash in a wacky wardrobe whirlwind,”
says the Brickell resident in regards to his prolific wardrobe. “I go
for European elegance, like my dad who’s quite the sharp dresser.”
The Sartorialist
Frank Kelly isn’t new to style accolades. Five years ago the Miamian beat out thousands of contenders around the country to win
Esquire’s
“Best-Dressed Real Man” contest. But it wasn’t just the perfectly
fitted Hugo Boss suits that made the men’s fashion glossy take notice;
it was his style savvy combined with his philanthropic potential that
nabbed the national ink. Kelly’s Project Vacant Streets is a volunteer
initiative that helps homeless men and women re-enter the workforce by
teaching them (among other things) the importance of first impressions
and dressing the part. “I was blown away by the misconceptions about the
homeless and I wanted to change those negative stereotypes,” says
Kelly, who’s now at work on The Reel Miami Project, a series of shorts
by award-winning filmmakers that showcase Miami neighborhoods from an
insider perspective. “We have to show there’s more to the city than
Ocean Drive.” When not lecturing across the country about the power of
dressing properly, Kelly is always on the lookout for the types of
threads that made
Esquire take notice in the first place. His
one piece of advice? “It’s all about the tailoring,” says Kelly. “Make
sure to do all the necessary adjustments so that suit fits like a
glove.” He should know.
