Pair of Kings: A Fashion and Culture Podcast

Episodios

• The 1,500 Person Fashion Survey | Season 14, Episode 5 09.06.2026 1h 27m

  What do shoppers actually want in 2026? Do brand vibe, culture, and ethos matter more than the clothes? Is experience-based fashion just better marketing? And what does “integrated fashion” look like when your wardrobe is built around music, sports, clubs, video games, vintage, coffee shops, and the internet? On this episode of Pair of Kings, Sol Thompson and Michael Smith break down the largest survey they’ve run on fashion preferences, shopping habits, and taste: 1,500+ responses on how peo...
• Dave Macklovitch (@dave1) Returns: Hedi Slimane, the Role of AI in Music, and the Legacy of Blogcore and Indie Sleaze | Season 14, Episode 4 27.05.2026 1h 27m

  Was Dave Macklovitch right about the Hedi Boy revival? Is Hedi Slimane’s skinny-jeans-and-leather-jacket universe bigger than fashion? And what happens to musicians when AI can make the record but not the room? Sol and Michael sit down with the podcast's favorite well-dressed unc, Dave Macklovitch of Chromeo, for his second episode and a proper apology tour after the 2025 Hedi Slimane craze proved him right. The trio explore the Hedi Boy phenomenon, Celine skinny jeans, Dior Homme codes, Sain...
• Stanley DeSantis, The Vintage Band Tee Bubble, and the Role of Ephemera in Fashion | Season 14, Episode 3 13.05.2026 1h 27m

  Who was Stanley DeSantis? Why is a 2004 Slipknot tee selling for $2,000? And what does a Daft Punk Roulette residency shirt have to do with how fashion brands sell you a lifestyle in 2026? Sol Thompson and Michael Smith return from their Neuehouse live recording for Episode 3 of Pair of Kings Season 14, continuing the season's deep dive into integrated fashion — the symbiotic loop where brands, hobbies, and ephemera matter more than the clothes. This week the boys go solo on the post-COVID ex...
• Interview with Wesley Breed: Cars as Fashion, Aime Leon Dore X Porsche, and Why People Pay a Premium for Vintage | Season 14, Episode 2 29.04.2026 1h 3m

  Is fashion still just about clothes? Why are cars, watches, and Formula 1 the new menswear? What does Aime Leon Dore have to do with Porsche, and why, in an age of automation, are buyers paying a premium for things that are...worse? Sol Thompson and Michael Smith sit down with Wesley Breed, the New York-based influencer, storyteller, and car enthusiast who pivoted his fashion platform into automotive content, to unpack the rise of "integrated fashion": the symbiotic loop between brands,...
• Integrated Fashion: How We Stopped Buying Clothes and Started Buying Lifestyles | Season 14, Episode 1 14.04.2026 1h 36m

  Why does every fashion brand run a coffee shop? How did a Stussy varsity jacket network from the late 1980s predict the business model of modern fashion? What does used spray paint have to do with why Miu Miu is one of the most effective brands in the world right now? Sol Thompson and Michael Smith open Season 14 of the Pair of Kings Podcast with a level set: the history of integrated fashion—the idea that buying clothes has always really been about buying into a lifestyle, a cult of personal...
• How to Dress Better in 2026: An Actual Men's Style Guide by Pair of Kings | 13.19 17.02.2026 1h 28m

  Why are men's style guides just glorified affiliate link shopping lists? What should a real style guide for men actually teach you? And how do you build a wardrobe you love without spending a fortune? On the Season 13 finale, Sol and Michael tear apart the modern men's style guide — from GQ and Esquire to The Rake — and expose why today's fashion advice is failing young men. We do what none of those guides bother to do: share real, practical styling tips that will actually make you dress bett...
• Born DuBois on Viral Murder Mystery Parties, Vaquera's Paris Runway, Rick Owens Auditions, and What It Takes to Make It in Fashion | 13.18 11.02.2026 1h 43m

  What does it take to throw the most viral murder mystery parties in New York City? How do you go from pin-up modeling in Pittsburgh to walking for Vaquera at Paris Fashion Week? What happens when Rick Owens calls your name at a casting—but not for the runway? Sol and Michael sit down with Born DuBois—model, stylist, creative director, personal shopper, and the woman i-D Magazine called "A Star is Born"—for her very first podcast. Born has quietly become one of the most interesting people in N...
• Paris Fashion Week FW26 Review: Is Raf Simons Back? Rick Owens, Dior, Dsquared2 & More | 13.17 03.02.2026 1h 32m

  Is Raf Simons finally back? Is Rick Owens still the GOAT? Did Jonathan Anderson fumble his AW27 Dior menswear show? Why does Dsquared2 keep putting giant furry hats on models—and why do we respect it? Sol and Michael break down 2026's Paris Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week with their most unfiltered runway reviews yet. Which designers are cooking? Which creative directors are washed? Find out. RUNWAY REVIEWS: Prada FW26: High button holes, dirty French cuffs, and silhouettes echoing early ...
• Paul Heavener on What a Creative Director Does at Hypebeast, Vintage Bape, Archive Fashion as a Trend & the Future of Streetwear | 13.16 28.01.2026 1h 25m

  What does a creative director actually do at a major fashion publication? Is Chrome Hearts still worth the investment in 2026? How did vintage Bape become the gateway drug for an entire generation of streetwear obsessives? And why is Rick Owens' FW14 Moody still influencing how we dress today? We sit down with Paul Heavener, Creative Director at Hypebeast, for a deep dive into his decade-long journey from Bape Talk forum moderator to leading one of fashion media's most influential creat...
• The Best Fragrances for Men, The Modern Master of Perfume, and Honestly Reviewing the Hottest Niche Fragrances of 2026: The PoK Scentacular | 13.15 21.01.2026 1h 24m

  What's the best men's cologne in 2026? Is Orto Parisi worth the hype? What does "grassy" mean? How do you actually describe how something smells without sounding pretentious? In the 2026 Scentacular, Sol and Michael sit down with over 50 fragrance samples (thank you, ScentSplit!) to answer these questions and more to create the ultimate 2026 fragrance guide for men. The duo dive deep into niche perfume houses like Orto Parisi, Serge Lutens, Frederic Malle, and Amouage—reviewing cult cla...
• Shane O'Neill (@shaneisland) Explains Gooning, Jeremy Scott's Legacy & the NFL's Link to the Arab Spring's Love of SpongeBob | 13.14 13.01.2026 1h 29m

  Is Stone Island actually worth the price? What lifestyle requires techwear? Is Timothee Chalamet overrated? Why does Lady Gaga feel less authentic than Charli XCX? What is gooning, and how did it end up in Harper's Bazaar? This week, Sol and Michael sit down with Shane O'Neill, writer for The Washington Post's twice-weekly pop culture newsletter "Seriously?," to unpack the weirdest corners of the internet and how they intersect with fashion, music, and modern masculinity. The trio explo...
• Rare Rick Owens Jackets, the Marty Supreme Jacket PR Machine, and the Muppets | 13.13 06.01.2026 1h 38m

  Did Rick Owens really design leather jackets for Ghost of Mars? Is Timothee Chalamet running the exact same PR playbook as Jack Harlow? What the hell is Goouch, and can a goose be a Muppet? Sol and Michael are back! They sit down to break down Rick Owens' early Hollywood costume design work (Ghost of Mars, Tank Girl, Otto; or Up with Dead People), the sock-heel technique that created the iconic pagoda shoulders, and Bailey Goldberg's knitwear producers. The pair then dives into the Timothee C...
• Avery Trufelman on Why We Wear Military Clothes, M-65 Field Jackets, and how Military Surplus Shaped Modern Fashion History | 13.12 26.12.2025 1h 24m

  Where does your field jacket actually come from? Were WWII soldiers the original hypebeasts? What is the M-43 jacket? Sol and Michael sit down with Avery Trufelman, host of Articles of Interest and 99% Invisible veteran, to break down the military origins of menswear and why everyone's suddenly obsessed with gorpcore. The trio dive deep into the history of the M-65 field jacket, how World War II military surplus shaped American fashion, the invention of layering (yes, someone had to inv...
• Men's Skincare Routines, Chrome Hearts Jewelry, and Trying to Buy the Sauce | 13.11 16.12.2025 1h 32m

  Is that Chrome Hearts real or fake? Should guys actually use skincare? Why are "stylists" wearing head-to-toe counterfeit on the subway? Sol and Michael are back for a boys episode as they chat about spotting fake Chrome Hearts (and why people can't dress when they wear fakes), the perfume habits of Albanian men in the club, men's skincare routines that actually work (CeraVe, The Ordinary, La Roche-Posay) from an unsponsored viewpoint, men's skincare mistakes (and why Neutrogena face wash is ...
• Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) on 2026 Fashion Trend Predictions, Freaky Shoes, and Embodying the Old Loser in Brooklyn | 13.10 09.12.2025 1h 33m

  Who were the best designers of Paris Fashion Week 2025? Sol and Michael are talking the future of fashion this week! The duo sit down with Mandy Lee (aka oldloserinbrooklyn) to chat about fashion trend forecasting before TikTok existed (and TikTok fashion trends), microtrends vs macro trends (and why everyone's obsessed with ranking them), the Simone Rocha bride aesthetic, designer fashion show debuts in 2025, what it's really like being a Gen Z fashion influencer, how TikTok changed fashion ...
• Glenn Martens' Margiela, Balenciaga Hoodies, Hedi Slimane Jeans, and How Sweatshirts Changed Forever | 13.9 02.12.2025 1h 14m

  Is Glenn Martens a good designer? Who owns Maison Margiela (and thus, controls the brand)? Are Margiela gats, futures, tabis, and shoes enough to carry a designer through their tenure? Join Michael and Sol as they chat about what it means to be a designer in 2025, Maison Margiela shoes, John Galliano, Martin Margiela, Hedi Slimane Jeans, Saint Laurent's rebrand (why did YSL change to SLP), mm6 (and the connotations of the line), Margiela's Line 2, Vetements Hoodies (and how to legit che...
• Dr. Sonya Abrego (@sonyaabrego) on Men's Westernwear, The History of American Denim, and Where to Buy Vintage Jeans | 13.8 25.11.2025 1h 15m

  Where DO you find the best vintage jeans? This week, Dr. Sonya Abrego, the world's preeminent Westernwear historian joins Sol and Michael to talk about vintage jeans, American-made denim, the Cone Mills Corporation, Lee Jeans (and why pocket designs matter!), what IS selvedge denim, (and what is raw denim), her greatest finds from her days as a picker, the modern landscape of denim, how to date levis, what is so special about raw denim (especially if it's made in the US), some myths about den...
• 13.7 - The Rick Owens Retrospective, Stone Island and CP Company's Fabric Development, and Modern Italian Fashion 03.11.2025 1h 23m

  You could hear episode early and get access to our Rick Owens "Temple of Love" Giveaway by subscribing to our HeroHero! Michael's back! Michael's back! Sit down as Sol catches up with his work husband and chat about Rick Owens, Helmut Lang, Stone Island, CP Company, Balenciaga, Adidas, Italian fashion, the downfall of tourism, Issey Miyake shirts, Margiela, Margiela Couture, Glenn Martens, Off-White hoodies, the now-defunct Pyrex vision, Virgil Abloh, LL Bean and Eddie Bauer, popular f...
• 13.6 - International Tours, Object Permanence, and How to Win at Solitaire with Sophia Stel (@insignificantfunds) 21.10.2025 1h 15m

  You could hear episodes early and get access to all of our giveaways on our HeroHero! It's with great pleasure that I announce this week's episode with Sophia Stel, the artist/producer/singer/songwriter behind not one, but two of the year's best EPs: Object Permanence and How to Win at Solitaire. Tune in as Sol and Michael chat with Sophia about her soon-to-be international tour, finding and working with "anime baddie" opener ilykimchi, living life without a phone, thrifting in New York City,...
• 13.5 - Rating and Reviewing Every Paris Fashion Week Debut with Sol (@ellaemhoff) and Michael (@hot_vodkaa) 14.10.2025 1h 15m

  This episode has a $250 ESSX Giveaway! All HeroHero subscribers are automatically entered. The boys are back for a totally normal, definitely-nothing-amiss episode. Join Sol and Michael as they cover all of the recent runway debuts of Paris (J.W. Anderson's Dior, Pierpaolo Piccioli's Balenciaga, Louise Trotter's Bottega Veneta, Duran Latnik's Jean Paul Gaultier, Mathieu Blazy's Chanel, Ann Demeulemeester, Alexander McQueen, Glenn Martens' Maison Margiela, Miguel Frietas' Mugler, Loewe) and ch...