Vogue reports that Harlem’s Anthony Hendrickson has always had fashion in his blood, but he didn’t know it at first. He’d been interested in design from a young age and attended the High School of Fashion Industries in New York and later FIT. It wasn’t until after school, when he took a trip to California to meet his grandfather for the first time, that he realized everything would come full circle. “I had just gotten a scholarship and spent some of the money on a sewing kit and a ticket to L.A.,” Hendrickson says. “When I met my grandfather, I saw myself in him. I learned that he actually met my grandmother in the garment district in New York—he was a carrier for the fabric manufacturers and she was a seamstress.” He adds, “I thought okay, now it all makes sense.”
Hendrickson’s new label M65, which officially launches today, is an ode to his roots. “It’s a return to my youth,” Hendrickson explains. “I’m taking everything back and looking at what I’ve experienced—it’s my heart and soul.” The collection is primarily focused on denim, which is what he’s always specialized in. Hendrickson has created four unisex styles, all high-waist fits that are priced at $420 and can be customized to the wearer’s liking. M65 also includes denim shorts, a blazer, jackets in denim and leather, logo tees, and Hawaiian pajama tops, all running between $150 and $1500. The pièce de résistance is a “Joseph Technicolor Dream Coat” made with patchwork mink fur.
Hendrickson has chosen to debut and exclusively sell M65 at fellow designer Jérôme LaMaar’s cult-favorite Bronx store 9J. “That’s my best friend, my homeboy, my road dog,” Hendrickson explains. “We take care of each other to build a better world.” This sentiment also runs through the seams of M65—friendship, family, and loyalty. Beyond the connection to his own family, Hendrickson points to the close-knit community of the downtown New York club scene of the early aughts and as an influence, and has fond memories of hanging out with friends like Hood By Air’s Shayne Oliver and Telfar’s Telfar Clemens. Bits and pieces of his life are there in the clothes, whether it’s the “We Love Our Customers Shirt” that’s a nod to the Laundromat he lived above growing up in the Bronx, or the bright colors in the patchwork jacket that harken back to his days interning at Marc Jacobs and Heatherette. Ultimately the mission for M65 is to circulate some of those good vibes—and good jeans—again. “I want to make guys and girls feel great in their denim,” Hendricks says. “I want to make those ass and hips look good.”
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