connor mcknight is a luxury fashion brand based in brooklyn, ny established during the pandemic. while in solitude, connor designed, cut and sewed his first collection in his bedroom, reconnecting with his work amidst unemployment and unrest due to the continued violence against the black community.

with this collection, he explored his relationship to this practice of daily work, emphasizing craft and utility with refined timeless silhouettes to be worn for a lifetime. all designs are suggestions of ideas that we see in everyday life adjusted to create an abnormality. a top coat that fits like a classic has been constructed from water resistent nylon and wool batting. a raglan liner jacket in the same silhouette of those found in army surplus stores has been reconsidered in fleece shearling. a trouser produced in the 60’s for everyday workers has been tailored in luxury sport wools. although we often associate average with our most regular perception, black people of color are often required to exceed normal standards in order to achieve the ordinary. we work twice as hard to achieve half the results. furthermore, the spaces that we are allowed to occupy in the realm of success are unattainable for most.

informed by his roots in the washington d.c. metropolitan area, where vintage outdoor gear reigns supreme amongst black youth, connor mcknight aims to refine, and reimagine ideas typically reserved for hiking trips in the mountains or weekend casual functionality.

he took cues such as color and texture from a midcentury familial home his grandfather built himself in the 1950’s in northeast d.c. connecting a personal formative memory of home with our newfound universal connection with home. despite being part of the basic framework for an ordinary life, home ownership is still a luxury for most black folks.

his designs represent a continuation of narratives of a beautifully mundane childhood as a black person of color. in a society that continually struggles to recognize nuance within the black community. his goal is to explore the relationship between normality and luxury in hopes of reestablishing the black mundane.