Business Profile: Rich & Faded, Mount Kisco
You no longer have to battle traffic or board a Metro-North train into Manhattan to find the hippest street wear around.
The look that many teenagers and younger adults crave in sneakers and apparel can be found in the heart of downtown MountKisco.
Rich Franklin, co-owner of Rich & Faded, rebranded his establishment last April where he operated for the previous two years with his business partner Chris Quarles. They now design their own line of custom sneakers, t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. Think of it as a boutique for the hip-hop culture.
“Things that you find here you can’t find at a mall or a general store that would sell sneakers and apparel and hats,” Franklin said.
One-of-a-kind sneakers made by some of the top-selling brands are reconstructed by replacing conventional materials with exotic shark, lizard or crocodile skins and/or with color schemes that scream individuality, something that is important among many consumers today, Franklin said. Franklin sends his designs to American Shoe Manufacturers in Mount Vernon, which rebuilds the shoe after he designs them. Some of his most intricate works have sold for $3,000, in part because of the uniqueness of the materials.
There are also baseball caps, sweatshirts and t-shirts, where no more than 100 of any item is made and sold.
The exclusivity and craftsmanship of the products is one of the key drawing cards for Rich & Faded. Plus, independence and everyone having their own look is crucial in street fashion.
“I think why I’m into it now so much is to kind of show the kids and to show the local people here that you don’t have to conform to a 9 to 5 (look) or something that’s going to require you to be in the city in a suit or something that like,” Franklin explained.
Since it’s opening, Rich & Faded has attracted customers throughout the metropolitan area. Celebrities have also heard about Franklin’s line.
A Bedford Hills native and Fox Lane High School graduate, Franklin, 31, has been collecting sneakers for 20 years, since saving up his own money and buying a pair of Larry Johnson Converses when Johnson played for the Charlotte Hornets.
By the time Franklin was 16, he was designing sneakers, helped by the fact that his father owned sports facilities where teams played and practiced, including at Concordia, his alma mater. They even held a sneaker convention one year. With his own creativity, he’s been able to forge his way into a niche but lucrative market.
“I don’t have an art background. There’s nobody in my family. I never went to school for it, but I did graffiti as a kid and I was really into the street, hip-hop culture,” he said. “I grew up listening to rap music and hip-hop. I’m kind of a product of that culture.”
Justin Couillard, who recently moved from Brewster to MountKisco, said to find anything close to what is carried at Rich & Faded you have to go into the city. Plus, the quality of the merchandise beats most city competitors.
“Even within the city this place is known,” Couillard said. “That’s why this is like the hottest sneaker place in the game.”
Bringing a slice of city culture to a northern Westchester community is exactly what Franklin had in mind. When he was a teenager, he had to take the train to the Galleria in White Plains or get a ride to Danbury.
And it’s not just kids. A portion of his clientele are men in their 40s who were in school when the sneaker craze hit full force with Michael Jordan’s line.
“Come in here and let us design whatever it is your dream is, your vision is,” Franklin said. “Everybody collected sneakers since they were young. It’s nice to see these guys come in when they’re older and want to show their childhood almost.”
Rich & Faded is located at 137 E. Main St. in MountKisco. It is open 12 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit wwwrichandfaded.com. On instagram it’s @richandfaded.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
