About DeWitt Kendall
Unpredictable Men’s Ethnic Wear
DeWitt Kendall is a menswear label built for the Indian man who cuts his own path and sets his own expectations.
Born from the energy of New York and the rich visual and cultural heritage of India, DeWitt Kendall reimagines classic South Asian menswear through an unexpected lens. Street art found in the New York subway system, imagery drawn from the archives of New York’s world-class museums, and the exuberance of Indian visual culture come together to create something distinctly our own.
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Painted in Harlem
DeWitt Kendall’s pieces begin with original artwork painted in the heart of Harlem, NYC.
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Translated into natural fabrics
Each design is meticulously translated into fabric using all natural fibers. We believe the materials should be as considered as the design.
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Tailored in India
Each piece is made in India with care and precision, using natural materials throughout. This extends to the buttons, which are made without plastic.
Saffron Sky
Our first collection, Saffron Sky, takes on the garments the Indian man has worn for generations: the Sherwani, Kurta, Bandhgala, and Nehru Waistcoat.
While rooted in tradition, these pieces are not intended to simply reproduce the past. They are made for the man wearing them today.
- Sherwani
The signature DeWitt Kendall Sherwani returns to the dramatically long proportions of pre-19th-century court attire, before the influence of the British frock coat reshaped the silhouette.
- Kurta
- Bandhgala
- Nehru Waistcoat
The Story Behind the Label
DeWitt Kendall began his career not in fashion, but in architecture. He graduated from the architecture program at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), the same program attended by Virgil Abloh.
Rather than moving directly into fashion, Kendall spent decades designing, developing, and sourcing furniture, home textiles, and accessories for major American retailers and importers, including Target, Macy’s, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters. His career took him to India repeatedly from 1996 onward, where years of working closely with manufacturers and artisans gave him an intimate understanding of the country’s materials, craftsmanship, and visual language.
But the desire to create clothing was always there.
Kendall first learned the structure of garment making from his grandmother, a seamstress who worked in a garment factory. Decades later, that early influence and a lifelong fascination with art, architecture, pattern, and objects came together in the creation of DeWitt Kendall.
His creative influences include the extraordinary worlds of Piero Fornasetti, Mariano Fortuny, and Elsa Schiaparelli: artists and designers who understood that clothing and objects could be theatrical, unexpected, and deeply personal.
A Different Kind of Maximalism
The idea for DeWitt Kendall was shaped in large part by Kendall’s experiences in India and his marriage into an Indian family.
He saw something that deeply resonated with him: a confidence in South Asian men to embrace color, pattern, ornament, and exuberance, to be, in his words,
“the peacock.”
“I found the freedom to do what I wanted to do by observing the spirit of men in India. I’m married into an Indian family and have seen first hand that ‘the peacock’ has always been not only an accepted but an encouraged prototype for living for South Asian men. Indian men are and always have been about maximalism. That confidence and exuberance is something that we’re still struggling to find in the US as we give in to Kohl’s vision of the American man. I’m grateful for the South Asian men who have encouraged me in this venture and even pushed me to take it further, in a new way, and without necessarily relying on the trappings of traditional embroidery and beads.”
The result is unpredictable men’s ethnic wear, rooted in heritage, informed by New York, made in India, and designed for the Indian man who isn’t afraid to be seen.
This is DeWitt Kendall.
Shop Saffron Sky