After closing its Lower East Side store in December, Feltraiger soft-opened in Williamsburg this past weekend, quietly joining the neighborhood’s Grand Street strip. The new store is just off of Bedford, in what was previously the home of our pop-up Newsroom.
“Our customer is in his 20s or 30s,” said Jon Feldman, brand manager and assistant creative director of the menswear line he cofounded with his brother, Dan. “He has a creative job. He’s someone who cares about clothes; not so much the quick-and-cheap or the trendy.”
Feltraiger will take a classic motorcycle jacket and update it with a triple-stitch, for durability, and pockets that are easier to reach into while you ride a Harley. “It’s menswear. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Jon says. “We’re just trying to clean it up a little.”
In a lot of ways, the whole business venture is a celebration of the past. When Jon and Dan’s Russian relatives passed through Ellis Island, they changed their last name from Feltraiger to Feldman. The Feldman brothers were raised in South Florida, but their dad is originally from Sheepshead Bay.
(Photo courtesy of Feltraiger)
Jon, 26, studied interior design at Parson’s, where his brother, 29, studied fashion while interning for labels such as Unis, What Goes Around Comes Around, and Mishka. Dan began designing clothes when he was in a band in need of merch. While he was in third grade, Dan and friends formed Time Will Tell. After high school, they traveled with the Warped Tour before eventually breaking up (Jon hopes for a reunion…only Time Will Tell).
Over 90 percent of Feltraiger’s merchandise comes from its private line and is designed from scratch (the rest is their favorite vintage finds from around the country and also places like 10 Ft. Single by Stella Dallas in Williamsburg and Urban Jungle in Bushwick). All of the store’s products are made in the U.S.; their production site is in downtown L.A. And the guys would be happy to sell you the decor, such as the army-green tables made from the crushed exterior of a 1972 Dodge Dart (one of their creations).
The Feldmans hope they are creating pieces that will be treasured by their original owners and eventually passed down: denim (from $185 to $220), button-downs ($65 to $178), logo tees (“Ride It Like You Stole It,” “Virginity Is Curable,” $42 each), hats (from $20-$65), gloves, jewelry, eyewear and more in the “new American classic greaser vibe.” There are collections four times a year, plus offhand collaborations with friends.
It sounds like they want to build an empire, with Jon especially eyeing the home goods market. “We’re pretty much developing an apothecary line,” Jon said, citing their Heartbreaker hair and beard pomade ($12), plus a forthcoming styling paste, beard oil, and planned travel accessories such as combs and Dopp kits.
155 Grand St. nr. Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, 718-302-4420