New York City's Coolest Skate Crew is a Family Affair

Ben Oleynik‘s Grand Collection has grown to be an established and well-recognized name amongst both close-knit skate and fashion networks in New York City. After years of personal projects and work with other major skate labels, Oleynik started Grand Collection as a brand based on family, quality and an appreciation for elevated-yet-minimal design. With close friends Wade DesArmo and Spencer Hamilton riding for the brand, then moments like Oleynik’s father walking in its first-ever runway show, it’s clear that the intention is to build Grand Collection with those closest to him.

While fashion often draws inspiration from skateboarding, Grand Collection’s creative process emphasizes a holistic respect for craft, a quality that defines the best in fashion and skateboarding. When you watch a Grand video part, you’ll see clean and proper styling, as well as flat ground and ledge tricks stomped naturally and elegantly — the way they were intended. That standard of excellence extends beyond the video parts as well: Grand Collection’s aesthetic has garnered supporters as wide-ranging as pro skater (and official team member) Diego Nájera and photographer Renell Medrano plus zeitgeist-defining creatives like Pharrell and Willy Chavarria.

The most recent project Grand Collection released was its third Umbro collaboration, including tracksuits and sweats, tailored to the skate-inspired oversized look and preference of the brand. Even more recently, Grand Collection hosted its sixth annual holiday food drive to raise non-perishable goods in partnership with Star Team East Village in the city. Two years ago, the brand hosted its first fashion show, at which admission was granted by way of non-perishable goods donation instead of a VIP invite.

Oleynik puts the inspiration behind Grand Collection simply: “What better way to spend your life than doing things you love with people you love?”

You grew up skateboarding in a small Canadian town, then made your way to Vancouver and eventually New York City. How did that all come together?

I grew up in a town of 3,000 people. My graduating class was 29 people. I just skated and read skate magazines and watched skate videos all day. I was obsessed. Vancouver was the place to be for skateboarding in Canada, so I took a Greyhound bus for three days to move there. I had never been to Vancouver but moved there just to be able to skate the city. I met my wife Marianne there and she always wanted to move to New York, so we did it together. I had never been to New York before I moved here either. My wife just had the best perspective about it. She said “If we don’t love it, we’ll move somewhere else.” It’s a great lesson she taught me that I’ve carried with me since. Don’t make things bigger than they are, don’t be afraid to try the things that you want to do.

What inspired you to start Grand Collection?

The best way for me to answer that question is to ask one in return. What better way to spend your life than doing things you love, with people you love? That’s why I started Grand. A lot of the typical answers to this question are also true for me. Yes, I wanted to start a brand so my friends and I had a creative outlet. Yes, I saw an opportunity to make the types of designs that I want to wear but didn’t see coming from other brands. Yes, I saw an opportunity to create a brand that comes from skate but doesn’t operate like a traditional skate brand. But the main reason I started the brand is that, like I said, I want to spend my time doing things I care about with people I care about.

When people talk about the brand, that familial aspect is definitely something that’s commented on.

Yeah, I feel very very close to the people involved. I don’t take the trips and shoots and time we get to spend together for granted. My dear friend JP Blair films all our videos, and we always talk about past Grand trips and how much we can’t wait to plan the next one together. It’s such a family feel with the brand at this point I don’t even want to go on Grand trips without bringing my wife and our baby. Like in January we’re doing a showroom at Paris Fashion Week and I’m flying out my wife, our son and my mother-in-law so we can all spend the week there together.

That’s so sick. Do you have any stories like that about someone who skates for the brand?

God, so many. One recent example though, this year we released a pro board for Connor Champion. Connor and I have this incredibly special relationship. Everyone was always saying that he deserved a pro board, so I decided to make one and surprise him with it. We released it exclusively at Supreme with a video we filmed of Connor going to Barcelona, and I’ll never forget his face when he saw his board for the first time We made sure his close friends were there, then went out for dinner with like 15 of us afterwards.

One of the things that makes Grand Collection so interesting is that although it has all the energy of a skate brand it doesn’t operate like a traditional skate brand. What would you say some of the “non-traditional” things the brand does are?

We do made-to-order items that are produced in New York and constructed from Italian fabrics. We’re the first skate brand to host a runway show. This will be our sixth year in a row doing a holiday food drive to feed New Yorkers in need. Like I said, in January we will have a showroom at Paris Fashion Week to show our Winter ’25 collection to shops.

You mentioned being the first skate brand to host a runway show. What made you decide to do that, and what was the response like?

It’s about being able to change people’s perceptions through context. If you see a painting on the side of the street in the trash, you think about it one way. If you see that same painting in a small art gallery on Orchard Street, you think about it in another way. If you see that same painting in the MoMA, you think about it another way. Putting Grand Collection in a runway context forces people to look at it in a new, more elevated way. It makes them consider the designs and the pieces and what we’re doing as a brand differently.

Also, the runway show was a food drive. It was open to the public, but to get in you had to donate a food item. By the end of the night, we had a van load of food to donate to the Bowery Mission. People tell me how they’ve never seen a runway show that was a food drive. Or that they’d never seen a skate brand do a runway show. I’ve had people at small companies and really big influential companies tell me that since seeing our show they’ve added charity aspects to their events. That really means a lot to me.

As you said, this is your sixth year doing the food drive — can you tell us more about it?

As brands we have cultural influence. We’re part of shaping culture and what culture means at a given time. So you ask yourself: what do you want to do with that influence? Do you want to just sell more t-shirts? Or do you want to also contribute meaningfully to your city and the people around you? As a brand you have the ability to help lead culture where you want it to go. That’s what our food drive is about. Giving to people that need it, and hopefully being a spark for how the next generation of brands thinks about the impact that they can have.

Grand Collection has a very distinct, refined look. Where does the inspiration come from? Do you ever struggle to come up with new concepts as you balance the worlds of fashion and skateboarding?

Not at all. I know what I want to make. I know what I want to wear, what my friends want to wear. I love minimal, pure design. I focus on the craftsmanship, fabric, fit, feel and taking away anything that isn’t necessary. I’m not trying to invent a new way of making clothing. I just want to make really nice things that you can wear for a really long time. I want everyone to be able to wear Grand, from the kid skating at Tompkins to a grandpa smoking a cigar in his backyard.

Grand Collection just dropped its third collaboration with Umbro. Tell us more about your collaborative process — how do you meld your ethos with another brand’s?

Umbro has been one of my favorite brands since I was a kid. When I partner with them we want the same thing: to create timeless sportswear. Those are the types of collaborations I want to do, ones where I genuinely have a connection to the brand and the people who work there. And together we create the most considered version of the items we’re envisioning. Like if we’re going to make a tracksuit, let’s make the absolute best one we can.

Who are some of your favorite designers and brands coming out of New York right now?

Renell Medrano is incredible: her photography, her videos, her design work for Ice Studios. Just everything she does. I love Willy Chavarria and his take on sportswear. We both love a good tracksuit. Raul Lopez from Luar is incredible. I always carry my Luar bag and people always stop me and want to know where they can get one. Kim Shui is such a special person and special talent and doing things completely in her own way. George William New York makes the best jewelry. It’s also sick to see what Kyota Umeki is doing with Star Team and Myles Underwood is doing with FTI. They’re young and getting to travel the world doing what they love and that’s just the best.

What else do you hope to accomplish in the coming years with Grand?
More of what we’re doing. I really love doing all this. What we already have planned for next year is glorious. I’m so grateful to all the people that support us.