In an well-executed effort to monetize their social media empires, Moti Ankari and Marcel Floruss are making their first foray into shoe design with the arrival of Ankari Floruss, which was released last night with a shindig at Hotel Chantelle on the Lower East Side. The label’s business model is refreshingly simple: seven footwear styles for seven days of the week, all landing between $195 and $295 and available directly to the consumer via the brand’s own website. “We want it to be simple and easy,” said Ankari, sporting a pair of Italian-made “Saturday” sneakers. “We edited down the market and came up with seven classic silhouettes for the every day guy. Essentially, if you buy all even pairs, you have your seven favorites, and that’s all you need for the season.”
With nearly half a million combined followers on Instagram, as well as their own standalone blogs The Metro Man and One Dapper Street, these two twenty-something members of the men’s wear mafia have catered the collection to the masses who tune in everyday to watch them galavant through New York and beyond. “We created this collection for ourselves, and the communities we’ve created around our blogs,” Floruss said as his pals Isaac Hindin-Miller and Jenny Albright DJ’d in the corner. “We’re not focusing on a specific demographic. If you feel youthful and have an interest in fashion, you’re our guy. He’s a young up-and-comer who wants to dress well, but he isn’t quite as well-versed as he’d like to be just yet. He needs a brand that he can trust. A brand that will deliver high quality, durable, and timeless footwear. So, that’s us.”
