Ezra Wine, fashion designer, vintage collector, creative marketing aficionado.
Born and raised in SoHo, New York City, Ezra has always been creative. He was raised by his parents from Chicago, his father from the North Side and his mother from the South Side. His father was an art student at the University of Indiana with Bobby Knight. His mother a civil rights activist, organizing sit-ins at the then segregated Woolworth's lunch counters in Chicago. His parents moved to Manhattan in 1967. His father became an abstract painter/photographer turned mathematics professor. His mother worked in the garment center for 40 years. With that background Ezra became involved in the art and fashion worlds.
In the 1990s during his NYC public high school years he developed style. He spent this time listening to hip- hop, writing graffiti, collecting Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, The North Face and Nike sneakers. Ezra became a Polo Head, collecting, buying, trading and selling vintage Ralph Lauren items from the 1992 era. Joining the Lo Head community, he was introduced to the tastes and culture of the hip-hop fashion world. At the same time, he saw SoHo morph from a neighborhood of liberal artists and galleries to a place for wealthy European businessmen and high end boutiques. Wine attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked his way through school at one of the last art galleries in SoHo.
In 2004 Ezra took his Polo business to the next level. He created vintagepolo.com and opened the premier Vintage Ralph Lauren showroom in SoHo. Wine reached out to a rookie year artist named Kanye West who had the same Polo affliction. Ezra became a stylist and personal shopper for Mr. West, providing ultra rare Polo pieces that only he had access to. He worked with other rappers and clientele like Fabolous and Just Blaze, renting Polo for music videos and photo shoots. After years of inspiration from Ralph Lauren, he created his own fashion line under the label EZRA WINE, designing clothing for Buju Banton's “Magic City” music video and Jay Z’s “Mashed Up” tour with Linkin’ Park.
In 2006 Ezra presented a proposal to the Ralph Lauren brand about the 40th anniversary of Polo and after meeting with David Lauren, Wine was brought on as a consultant, organizing ideas and events.
The EZRA WINE collection consists of Men's, Women's and Children's Tank Tops, T Shirts, Hats, Button-up shirts and Jackets. The garments are creative and bright, and all production is made in USA, cut & sewn in New York City. Wine says of his collection, “I will continue to give the fashion community what it wants. I’m here to save fashion. I’m here to make the clothes that I always wanted to wear. At heart I’m the still the same 17 year-old collecting Polo. The same kid trying to wear amazing clothing and not care about the silly fashion rules like matching. I’m here to share my style. I’m here to give the world EZRA WINE.”