(Photos courtesy of The Hill-Side)
With shops like Kai D., Feltraiger, and Robert James, Williamsburg is increasingly becoming a destination for discerning dudes seeking dashing duds. The latest local designer to open a store of its own is The Hill-Side, a six-year-old brand with roots in both NYC and Japan.
At the new flagship store, which opened yesterday on South 1st Street, you can find tailored jackets made in Bushwick ($396-$450), button-down shirts made in the Garment District ($175-$225), and handmade sneakers “ethically manufactured at one of the world’s oldest sneaker factories” in Japan ($150-$242).
Sandy Corsillo, who has a background in finance, and his brother Emil Corsillo, previously a graphic designer at Puma and art director at Tretorn, originally launched the brand with pocket squares and neckties made from selvedge fabrics sourced in Japan, where a partner now oversees production there. Their line, inspired by childhood nostalgia, has since grown to include pants made in what a sales manager said was a “really dope factory in Japan” and, recently, all-weather shoes made from English Ventile cotton and vulcanized rubber. Among others, GQ has taken notice: the magazine recently named The Hill-Side one of four Best New Menswear Designers in America, dropping a $10,000 check on the company.
In addition to The Hill-Side, the Corsillos also operate Hickoree’s. That onetime Williamsburg brick-and-mortar is now online-only, but The Hill-Side stocks some of the brands that were available at Hickoree’s, including Kaptain Sunshine and Phigvel (Japan), Arpenteur (France), and Tender (England).
The Hill-Side, 263 South 1st St., nr. Havemeyer St., Williamsburg; open Tue-Sun, noon-7pm.