Turning my instinct and taste into a global perfume and jewelry business.The Sum: Everything is Connected.
The StoryI built The Sum around an instinct about where culture and design were headed, turning an emerging shift in masculinity into a global perfume and jewelry business.
I sensed masculinity changing, becoming more open, expressive, self-aware, and less constrained by old ideas of strength. The Sum was built around a quieter kind of confidence: the belief that the most meaningful things don’t need to announce themselves. Vulnerability, curiosity, integrity, and looking inward became expressions of strength.
Connection to ourselves and to others was central to The Sum. Black diamonds and construction details were hidden within jewelry. Beautiful, distinctive perfumes were designed to be discovered through closeness rather than imposed from across a room. Each product was unique, but never too precious to become part of everyday life.
The things we wear on our skin can be transformative.
Building The Sum from the ground up meant treating the entire business as an interconnected expression of the Brand. Product, creative, pricing, margins, commercialization, ecomm, wholesale, and retail all shaped one another and the whole. Every decision was considered for its impact on the consumer and the business.
What started in my garage reached retailers around the world, showing at Paris Fashion Week and ComplexCon. The Sum earned recognition from WGSN, The New York Times, and other media, and was worn by Ty Dolla $ign, G-Eazy, Maxime Plescia-Büchi, and others. The Sum was sold in 2019.