September 20 through 26 marks D.C. Fashion Week. DCist will be celebrating by interviewing a different local designer every day this week. Check out the rest of our coverage here. Today, we talk to Pranav Vora from Hugh & Crye.
You mention on your site that “Hugh & Crye” is a play on the medieval English phrase “hue and cry,” which you interpret as “seeing something wrong in the world and doing something about it.” Tell us more about your fashion philosophy and what got you into the business.
The meaning behind “Hugh & Crye”, or our interpretation, really drives everything we do. We started a men’s dress shirt company with a focus on fit and smart design, because as customers we couldn’t find what we wanted out there in the market. We partnered with Martha’s Outfitters (the retail center of Martha’s Table) from the very beginning because we really believe in their mission and doing good. To me, doing good doesn’t have to mean grandiose plans, just simply thinking deliberately, thoughtfully, about every opportunity to live actively and help others when in the position to do so. We challenge ourselves with that every day.
I’ll give you an example: anyone that brings to us a gently-worn shirt gets 10 percent off their next purchase with Hugh & Crye. We take those donations to Martha’s Outfitters every few weeks. We get a steady stream of donations, but we know that Martha’s is always in need of men’s clothing. So we just announced the District Shirt Drive, which is a D.C.-metro wide campaign to collect 1000 shirts (and men’s clothing in general) for Martha’s. We partner with companies in D.C. that want to help us reach this goal, by hosting a clothing drive at their offices. Our first partner is Corporate Executive Board (CEB), which as alumni, was an easy choice for us. The benefit to CEB is obvious: a great opportunity for its employees to help a local non-profit. We’re excited about growing our ability to help Martha’s, but also because we’re introducing Hugh & Crye in a very meaningful way to many future customers.
