Connor McKnight is a Brooklyn-based designer creating clothes that move easily between the formal and the everyday. Raised outside Washington, D.C., Connor studied at Parsons before working at Kith and Bode. In 2020, with an unexpected stretch of time during the pandemic, he began making pieces from his bedroom simply as a way to stay busy and creatively engaged. One idea led to another, a collection began to take shape, and his namesake label grew from there.
Connor describes his work as “formal and utilitarian classics with a focus on refinement and personality.” He begins with recognizable silhouettes – tailoring, workwear and everyday staples – then considers each detail as the piece develops. The result is clothing that feels distinct without overpowering the person wearing it. For Connor, getting dressed is both practical and deeply personal: clothes need to function, but they also become part of our character and shape the first impression we make.
“I like clothing that can be worn every day and become part of someone’s character.”
His approach is thoughtful, but not overly precious. Connor looks to older garments and periods when clothing was made with the expectation that it would last. Rather than chasing novelty, he considers whether an idea can remain relevant as tastes change and whether a new piece feels necessary enough to exist. His goal is to make clothing that people return to often – pieces that become more personal through wear and never leave the wearer wanting more.
That same philosophy carries into his own style. Connor is a self-described uniform dresser, most often found in a vintage white T-shirt and painter pants, with references spanning the 1940s through the 1990s. He wears his own designs as a way of testing them, believing that if he wants to live in something every day, it may have the same lasting impact on someone else. His influences are similarly timeless: Hermès, Issey Miyake, Armani and, more recently, Balenciaga couture from the 1940s and ’50s.
When we asked Connor what he felt was missing when he decided to start his own label, he explained that it wasn’t necessarily about filling a gap in the industry. It was about giving his own perspective a place within it: “I would rather act on my opinions than live with them as hypotheticals.”
Follow Connor through an afternoon in New York – from his Brooklyn studio to the Garment District – with the Tokyo Woven Bolo along for every step.
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Thank you for inspiring us Connor! The Tokyo Woven Bolo is now live.
