Romeo Hunte, the master of surprises

If you are looking for something different from your classic fur looks, look at Romeo Hunte. The New York born-and-raised designer continues his love affair with fur and always finds a way to surprise.

“My style is edgy but sophisticated and I play with femininity and masculinity. My brand is easily recognisable for incorporating and combining lots of denim with other fabrics,” says Romeo Hunte.

Maybe that’s why his designs are luxurious but street and convenient but chic – just imagine a denim-and-fur coat with graffiti tags (a highlight in his AW19 collection), or a camouflage unisex blazer made with mink (a gem from the AW20 collection).

Romeo-Hunte-Denim-Camouflage

“I gather inspiration from many things around me whether it’s street style in NYC or at a major event. At times, I’ve drawn inspiration from my culture and I’ve even traveled to other countries. My culture and upbringing are very important to me so I’m always thinking of ways I can incorporate that in my designs while maintaining the authenticity of my brand’s DNA.”

An example on his talent of incorporating New York to designs, was his winning collection for the Saga Furs award in the Accessories Council Design Excellence Awards. He designed accessories suitable for traveling with mink-on-denim subway tile motif.

“The subway and it’s design is meaningful to me because I grew up in New York. Here the subway is a big part of life. New York is major inspiration for my designs, whether its subway motifs or city-themed colorways,” Romeo Hunte explains.

The collection included a tote bag, a utility vest and suitcase – where did you get the inspiration for these?
“I remember sitting down in my atelier thinking of what would be useful, cool, convenient and appropriate for the current times. I had my scooter next to me, so the luggage and the scooter instantly came to mind!”

Connecting things with RFID

Romeo Hunte has been named a visionary, which he is, in his own words, finally beginning to own.
“I think a lot about the world and how all things are connected. Designing the luggage and the ongoing pandemic played a role in my thought process.”

What was unique for the collection designed for the Saga Furs award in the ACE Awards was that the items included a Saga Trac RFID tag. The tag allows the fur in the garments to be fully traced back to individual farms in the US. Is this kind of traceability something that you, as a designer and a consumer, would like to have to every item of clothing/accessory?

“I wouldn’t mind that. I think it’s a great movement for consumers to have access to the reasons behind why they make their purchases and the sources of it. I’m happy that this is something that Saga Furs put in the forefront to educate our customers. I’m totally down with the idea of using RFID as long as we don’t end up putting them in humans – haha!”

With this collection Romeo got to work with NY-area manufacturers which is very important to him.
“I love supporting my community and local businesses. With how expensive it can get and with the ongoing pandemic, I felt that being able to keep production in NYC made things a little more efficient both in time and cost.

 

Loving Golden Island Fox

As much as Romeo Hunte loves New York, he still misses travelling:
“I truly miss that sense of normalcy and interaction with people all over the world. It’s those things that I have missed last year and this year. I’m optimistic that we will overcome the pandemic this year!

For the designer, things have started moving toward normalcy already. He visited London to launch the TommyxRomeo collection at Selfridges. And he is already full of new concepts and ideas that he would love to experiment with.

When asked, he is very quick to tell us what his favorite fur piece is:
“Right now I’m loving the Golden Island fur coat in my current collection. But I have several favourites! We have some amazing fur and shearling pieces in the FW22 collection, which I’m so excited to for everyone to see.”

Romeo-Hunte-Golden-Island-Fox

True to his style for surprises, Romeo Hunte is connecting fashion, art and music for the launch:
“I want to be one of the pioneers to not only bring fashion into the Metaverse and give people all over the world access to my show but to find a way to merge music, tech, and fashion in a fresh, new way.”

We can’t wait to tune in for the launch.

Romeo Hunte in Finnraccoon trench coat

Maybe Romeo Hunte is so into fur because he loves rocking a fur piece when it’s snowing out. Or just to make a statement – which he did in September when entering the Met gala after party in Finnraccoon Trenchcoat. It’s true what they say: Romeo Hunte’s style is about luxurious outerwear for the dynamic and confident.

To shop fur pieces mentioned in the article and more, visit the Romeo Hunte site.