Pair of Kings

<p>Hosted by Sol Thompson and Michael Smith, Pair of Kings is a fashion podcast that explores the relationship we have with and through our clothing, through themes of identity, sustainability, and collective affinity. The weekly podcast exists between legacy media and new-age influencer coverage of fashion, highlighting creatives who push the envelope with their distinctive impact on the fashion world, current events, and focusing on what's new, invigorating, and notable.</p>

13.2 - Why Shit Not Working and How Do We Fix New York City with Chi Ossé (@chiosse)

You can hear episodes early and get access to our weekly giveaways on HeroHero! The glaring issues of the greatest city in the world (New York) frustrate the Pair of Kings: little access to trains, high costs of living, improper addressing of the upper class' disparate tax burden... the list goes on. How can we change any of this? What can we do? This week, Sol and Michael bring New York City's District 36 Councilman, Chi Ossé on to the pod to chat Why Shit Not Working, how we can fix the cit...

09-23
01:19:00

13.1 — Our Upcoming Popup, the Lower East Side Fashion Scene Update, and Sol's Shopping Mega-List

Hi everyone! After a very long wait, we're back with a new season of the podcast! Tune in as the boys talk about the upcoming Friends of PoK popup (September 26th-28th at Komune) featuring designers NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN NEW YORK like Lac Demure, Ives Barrera, Bailey Goldberg, Perfume Making Co., Kozaburo, Jordan Arthur Smith, and so many more! Sol and Michael also discuss the changing landscape of the Lower East Side (uh oh!) and the mega-list that covers literally EVERY fashion stop in the n...

09-16
01:28:35

12.21 - The Great Big Berlin Fashion Week Wrap-Up

You can enter into all of our giveaways (including the one on this episode) and get early access to episodes at our HeroHero Michael's back from Berlin and telling Sol (and the listeners) about his experience with Berlin Fashion Week - the hottest, best run, and most interesting up-and-coming fashion week in the post-COVID era. Tune in to hear about Michael's picks for the best and brightest designers and some of his favorite shows: the duo chat about SF1OG, Balletshofer, Milk of Lime, and o...

07-15
01:44:42

12.20 - The Best Brands You've Never Heard Of

We're giving away a beautiful AV Beamon jacket on our HeroHero to celebrate the episode: subscribe to support the show, enter into the giveaway and get early access to episodes! Sol spent a ton of time on a Substack article called Hometown Heroes; join Michael and Sol as they sit down and discuss a selection of amazing brands from around the world (including Isabella Charles, Empath LA, and Ulysse Poulin, to name a few), up-and-coming music act Sophia Stel, why Zegna suits cost >$10,000 bu...

07-01
01:24:59

12.19 - Discovering the Lost Art of Tailoring with Chloe Boxer (@chl0e.box)

You could hear episodes early, get access to all of our giveaways, and more over on HeroHero! Subscribe and support the show! This week, Sol and Michael sit down with on-set tailor and clothing wizard Chloe Boxer to learn about her practice, work, and about her takes on clothing in general! Join the trio as they chart Chloe's introduction to and growth in the fashion world, historic clothing trends, her senior thesis (where she proved that a certain item of clothing was completely misinterpre...

06-24
01:38:06

12.18 - How New EU Regulations Stand to Change Fashion

To enter into all of our giveaways (including this episode's!), get access to exclusive episodes, and to hear episodes early, subscribe to our HeroHero! Wow! We're doing policy analysis? Sol's putting his degree to use? Michael's talking about some of the craziest reproductions of vintage clothing? What the heck? A podcast with heavy, heavy research? What's going on? Tune in to hear the duo talk about ESPR, tariff laws, fast fashion, medium-enterprise end-of-life adjustments, fabric responsib...

06-18
01:40:52

12.17 - How to Host a Perfect Runway Show, The Horribly Dressed Men of New York, and The Photographer-to-Influencer Pipeline with Tanya Ravichandran (@tanyar)

You can hear episodes early and get access to all of our giveaways for only $4 on HeroHero! Go support the show! We're back this week with our wonderful friend Tanya Ravichandran! Join Michael and Sol as they discuss the incredible team at Coach, Tanya's love for Ann D., how to host the perfect runway show, why all the guys in New York dress like shit, making the Margiela 5 Zip Exodia, Lee Alexander McQueen, some grails still eluding her collection, her wonderful boyfriend Roman's style, gett...

06-10
01:28:14

12.16 (HeroHero Preview) - Reviewing Every Single Outfit From the 2025 Met Gala (Superfine: Tailoring Black Style)

To listen to the full episode and to be automatically entered into this episode's giveaway, subscribe to the HeroHero! It's time for Michael and Sol's favorite yearly tradition: talking shit on the celebrities who spend thousands of dollars to walk the red carpet at the largest event in fashion! Join the duo as they talk about the best (no spoilers, but it rhymes with Mom Crown) and the worst (no spoilers, but it's (not) shockingly a white girl in a durag) of the night, chat about what makes ...

05-27
13:23

12.15 - River Fashion, Sol's Life Changing Experience, and Everything You Missed in April

You could have heard this episode early and had access to giveaways on our HeroHero: https://herohero.co/pok The title isn't hyperbole: Sol's back from the wilderness! Join the intrepid duo of Sol and Michael as they discuss Kanye West somehow proving that yes, you can always lose your mind just a little bit more, the Pope dying, what gorpcore's cooler older brother looks like, some slept-on outdoor brands, a horrible new beard, how the hell you dress for the longest river trip in the world (...

05-20
01:22:09

12.14 - The Pair of Kings Official Rap Snacks Taste Test

You could have heard this episode early and had access to giveaways on our HeroHero: https://herohero.co/pok Hello my dear friends! In this episode Sol and Michael eat way too many lil baby themed potato chips. We also discuss the Thom Browne employee uniform guidelines, the difference between "vintage" and "archive," the bible (again somehow), Alfargo's marketplace, military surplus (again somehow) and Sol's absolutely diabolical plan to undermine the fashion communities most prolific gateke...

05-06
01:10:53

12.13 - Chrome Hearts Rocket Launcher with Luke Fracher

You could have heard this episode early and had access to giveaways on our HeroHero: https://herohero.co/pok Hello Everyone! On this Episode Sol and Michael sit down with Luke of Lukes NYC. We talk about being an unc, scaling a business, getting tricked into tattooing a very large garfield on your head, rocket launchers, how much Luke really loves and respects Rick Owens and wants to wear it all the time, the largest prime number Sol can think of, and much more!We had a lot of fun recording ...

04-29
01:35:08

12.12 - Saint Mike, The Karen Signoff, and Military Surplus that isn't Military or Surplus

You could have heard this episode early and had access to giveaways on our HeroHero! Hey Everybody! Sol has run off to the grand canyon for the next 3 weeks and left me alone, afraid, and in charge of uploading the episodes. He has no phone and I am scared. But! there was a time that I was not scared and Sol was by my side and we recorded this episode for all of you. In this episode we discuss biblical names, that guy on instagram who does an incredible job of making bad hats, and how a numbe...

04-22
01:19:44

12.11 - Arts and Crafts and Modeling and DSquared2 FW25 with Ella Emhoff (@ellaemhoff)

You could have heard this episode early and been entered into all of our giveaways on HeroHero! Subscribe and support the show! On this episode, Sol and Michael sit down with their good friend Ella to chat about the long-awaited comeback of Soft Hands Knit Club, Ella's career as a model, DSquared FW25 (and their unfortunate gap between what they show on the runway and what they sell through sites like SSENSE), the "White Boy of the Month" phenomenon of the Lower East Side, environmental susta...

04-15
01:39:19

12.10 - The Most Memorable Fashion Campaigns of the Last Decade and Jonathan Anderson's Legacy at Loewe

One big announcement! We're organizing a pop-up at Komune (our favorite NYC boutique) with Kozaburo on April 11th! Swing by for a chance to win a free hat, say hi to the boys, and shop some of the Phantom Ranch goodies! You could have heard this episode early and been entered into all of our giveaways on HeroHero! Subscribe and support the show! This week, listen in as Sol and Michael discuss Jonathan Anderson leaving Loewe, being a vindictive ex-boyfriend, the legacy of fashion adverti...

04-08
01:20:45

12.9 - Fancy Footwork and Full Hedi Slimane with Dave Macklovitch (@dave1)

One big announcement! We're organizing a pop-up at Komune (our favorite NYC boutique) with Kozaburo on April 11th! Swing by for a chance to win a free hat, say hi to the boys, and shop some of the Phantom Ranch goodies! You could have heard this episode early and been entered into all of our giveaways on HeroHero! Subscribe and support the show! The boys are back - and just in time! This week, Michael and Sol sit down with musical legend Dave Macklovitch (@dave1) of Chromeo acclaim in h...

04-01
02:02:08

12.8 - Was Demna's Run at Balenciaga Good?

Two big things! 1. Don't forget! We're organizing a pop-up at Komune (our favorite NYC boutique) with Kozaburo on April 11th! Swing by for a chance to win a free hat, say hi to the boys, and shop some of the Phantom Ranch goodies! 2. We're doing a giveaway for this episode! All HeroHero subscribers will be automatically entered into a drawing for a Bryan Jimenez logo tee - we'll select two winners on the Monday after this episode! Sol and Michael are back with a boys episode! Strap in a...

03-25
01:27:48

12.7 - Helmut Lang's Spiritual Successor with Bryan Jimenèz (@bryanjimeneznyc)

You could have heard this episode early and had access to giveaways on our HeroHero! This week, Sol and Michael sit down with Bryan Jimenèz, a New York based designer whose sampling, patterning, and referencing make him one of the most exciting young designers in the city. The trio talk about Bryan's inspirations, some of the challenges of scaling a brand, boxing, the other creatives he lives and works with, creating clothes that feel authentically lived-in while still being new, attending an...

03-18
01:01:52

12.6 - The Problem with Raw Denim, Racism in the Archive Community, and Fitbruary Takeaways

Subscribe to our HeroHero for the full episode and a chance to win a Blackmerle field shirt! On this HeroHero-exclusive episode of the podcast, Sol and Michael announce a giveaway, try to big dog each other over pairs of pants, talk about the variety (or lack thereof) in their wardrobes, think about their next purchases (if any), discuss the ongoing conversation regarding racism in the archive community, examine who get access to what (shocker, it's the hyper-wealthy), and, finally, pick thei...

03-11
11:35

12.5 - The Blackmerle Interview with Terry and Justice (@blackmerle)

Want to support the podcast and hear episodes early? Subscribe to our HeroHero! This week, Sol and Michael are joined by the founders of Blackmerle, the South Korea-based brand making some of our favorite clothes of 2025. Tune into the podcast to hear the boys chat with Terry and Justice about how they approach design, how they choose materials, popups, their event at Komune, what they wish they could make, masculine cues in an outfit, double cuffs, color choice, rare Japanese fabrics, unifor...

03-04
01:11:34

12.4 - Listener Questions, Brooklyn's Underground Techno Raves, and the Only Clothing Worth Buying

You can get access to our Rick Owens beanie giveaway and hear episodes early at our HeroHero! Hi everyone! On this episode, Sol and Michael bring back the listener question format from earlier PoK seasons! Tune in as they discuss Sol's theory of the four quadrants of clothing, Discwoman, Sweat Equity, the underground warehouse raves of pre-COVID Brooklyn, fast fashion, finance bros, cabaret laws, how to get cheap raw denim, Mercari / Yahoo Japan, how clothing has changed to accommodate for a ...

02-25
01:33:46

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