After more than sixteen months indoors, much of the population that worked in office settings pre-pandemic are being called back to work. In addition to the typical challenges associated with returning to the office after working remotely, there is also the looming question of what to wear.
"A lot of guys were home wearing T-shirt sweatpants and sneakers. Now the world is starting to open back up," Shawn Pean, founder and creative director of June79 tells EBONY. "You can't expect a guy to go from being that comfortable to now wearing brown shoes and a navy three-piece suit. June79 solves that conundrum for men."
To meet the needs of men working in corporate environments in a peri-pandemic world, Pean launched the luxury work performance brand, which was inspired by his late brother, Junior.
"Out of the pandemic, we've really been given the uncanny ability to speak to the balance of life," says Pean. "We've always had this need to balance professionalism and still want to be cool and still want to dress up in a certain way."
Among June79's offerings are jogger trousers, sports blazers, and dress shorts that help businessmen seamlessly transition between settings without ever violating dress codes.
"Whether you're in a boardroom and then you're meeting someone for drinks or going out to dinner, you look good, professional, and cool in all situations," says the Brooklyn native.
While history—including the influence of his late brother and his Brooklyn upbringing —have all had a hand in shaping the June79 brand, Pean says that the future and where we are heading as a society also influenced the line as it sets out to reconfigure the landscape of luxury menswear.
"When you hear a lot of these luxury brands they talk about history and heritage and while all that important for me, it's important to kind of pay homage to history, but I also want to talk about where we're going people, as a community, as a society and how we dress up for those moments," says Pean.
Visit june79nyc.com to check out additional fashions from the work performance brand.
