For the previous three and a half a long time, Frank Ocean has been diligently performing on a new passion task and company enterprise — Homer, his individual independent American luxury organization.
In an job interview with Money Situations, Ocean clarifies that his brand’s namesake is derived from the Greek poet. “Homer is considered the father of history and background is meant to endure – the exact as diamonds and gold”, Ocean claims. “I know Homer used papyrus, but I’ve always liked the concept of carving history into stone.”
Homer is the most recent occupant within of the New York Jewelers Exchange — a industrial and retail place based in Chinatown at 70-74 Bowery. A lot like everything that Ocean rolls out, each individual inch of the minimalist-but-playful room has been meticulously crafted. Just above the entryway, the address of the imprint’s now-marketed out catalog graces the four-tale window. Adjacent to the doorways is a mirrored plate that is debossed with the manufacturer name — the best location for snapping a pic, because there is a rigorous no-photo plan within the house.
Ocean’s booth stands out from the other suppliers: his items are stacked across the wall in little fluorescent environmentally friendly bins following to a ground-to-ceiling picture of his silky, eye-catching scarves. In front of the Homer employees (by themselves decked out in Homer equipment), sit four aluminum vitrine installations employed as display screen instances for the solutions. This contains colorful Additionally Sign Scarves ($230-$460 USD) — the brand’s cheapest offerings — although the next a few cases are devoted to all of the designed-in-Italy luxury wares. An close cap is also stationed in the direction of the farther stop of the nook, with a monitor exhibiting driving-the-scenes clippings of the creation approach as nicely as footage of Ocean posing on blown-up installations that mimic the styles of his jewelry merchandise.
The line provides a large variety of pendants to decide on from, each and every exhibited in their individual chartreuse urethane case. Selections involve an animated character that channels a hybrid seem of Pikachu and Jigglypuff, butterflies that occur in lively hues, dice that are embellished with lab-grown diamonds, H-shaped crests that evoke memories of Samurai armor, a tiny cartoon figure with blinged-out tooth and extra. Dispersed all through the vitrines are other commodities like modernized variations of a Cuban Url bracelet, colored tongue rings that expense $995 USD, rings and belt buckles that are furnished with the phrase “OK” and hoop earrings that are embedded with a duo of diamonds. Things that sit on the higher stop of the spectrum are also prominently displayed, like the $271,500 Sphere Legs bracelet, a $471,000 USD 18K white and yellow gold H-Crest necklace and Homer’s holy grail — an iced-out cranium and crossbones-formed Legs Large Jewellery Necklace which bears a handsome $1.8 million USD price tag place.
High quality was fundamental to Ocean when it came down to making the selection. Some of the extras — this sort of as the H-Crest pendant that is created from .925 sterling silver — are on show at the shop, but are not accessible to purchase still, since they haven’t still handed by the brand’s stringent top quality assurance. This serves as a testament to the awareness to element imparted into this energy — you are not just acquiring items that have Ocean’s identify connected to it.
When Homer could appear like it came totally out of still left discipline, Ocean hinted that it was in the works as much back as 2019. In his last job interview with GQ Journal, Ocean was asked by Vegyn — a British producer whom he worked closely with on Blonde and Infinite — if he had any New Year’s resolutions. His response? “I did not do my past a person, to be truthful with you. My final one was self-decoration, and I haven’t completed any of my jewellery, so I’m gonna carry that on to future year.” Rapid ahead two and fifty percent many years later, and we now know that his ambitions have been recognized.
Luxury signifiers have often been connected with Frank Ocean during his career: he included his legendary orange BMW M3 E30 on the protect of Nostalgia, Ultra, made music about Raf Simons and Chanel baggage, revealed off his Pierre Paulin couch and spoke about his $100,000 USD Ai Weiwei bowl at the conclude of Tyler, the Creator’s modern music “LEMONHEAD.”
Continue to, Ocean’s latest superior-conclusion initiative feels various, displaying a new type of expression that compliments the artist’s prosperous new music job. It also serves as even further evidence that anything Ocean touches turns to gold — this time, basically.
The company’s 25-piece debut assortment is shoppable in two methods: through telephone get or by an in-person appointment at its New York retail shop, which can be booked on the brand’s site.