There are a lot of ideas contained within the name "Constant Practice," some obvious, others not so much. There's a reference to the exhaustive amount of research the curatorial platform undergoes day after day. There's a nod to all disciplines requiring consistency to reach some kind of creative breakthrough. There's even a reading where the two words hew close to Nike's maxim of there being "no finish line," that nothing can truly be mastered or perfected. Each of these interpretations is correct.
Founded by Zeke Hemme as a Grailed account in 2016 (under the username soft_ee), Constant Practice has gone on to define an influential corner of the menswear universe. Beginning with European designers like Raf Simons and Helmut Lang before shifting to Japanese labels and then a deep, ongoing exploration of utilitarian design, the platform has become a trusted source for pieces most people have never seen.
It's no surprise then that brands routinely reach out to the Virginia-based duo to get their hands on Issey Miyake vests that transform into trench coats and to pick their brains on pre-internet menswear breakthroughs. To learn more about Constant Practice's nearly 10-year journey, we caught up with the duo over Google Meets for an hour of conversation and 'fits.
Let's start at the beginning. You got going on Grailed back in 2016. What were people gravitating toward at the time in terms of brands or pieces?
Zeke Hemme: Back then it was a lot of Raf Simons and Helmut Lang. I didn't really know what I was doing at first, but then I started doing a little bit of UNDERCOVER, Junya Watanabe and some other brands. Then, I did this thing with Grailed called "The 20 Days of Cav Empt," which was my first collection. Cav Empt was relatively new at the time, but they had enough of a history to dig into, which was fun and the first bigger thing I had done at that point.
Eventually I got into other brands like Issey, which became one of the brands we're known for. That's kind of been our theme ever since, finding great pieces and designers before they're popular.
What have been the biggest changes in the decade from when you got started on Grailed up to now?
ZH: It started off more about finding grails, those really rare and expensive pieces. This has always existed for womenswear, but for menswear, it had never been a thing. The word "archive" is emblematic of that because it got latched onto that specific era of Raf Simons, Helmut Lang and UNDERCOVER-type stuff.
Jonah and I always joke that Armani is basically the new Raf, everyone's looking for vintage Armani pieces. It started with Raf, Helmut Lang, NUMBER (N)INE. Then it went into Yohji, Comme and Issey, and now it's really heavy into Armani. You're also seeing a lot more European brands than ever before.
"Doing the research is the biggest thing. Constant Practice is about ongoing exploration and repetition."
Zeke HemmeWhat's your sourcing process like? How do you discover pieces from brands that are not yet part of the wider conversation?
ZH: Doing the research is the biggest thing. Whenever something interests me, even if it's not necessarily something we sell at the moment, I'll buy it and see what happens. The more you buy, the more you realize certain themes and history. We did this with Armani, we've been selling it since 2019, 2020 and just kept getting into it. Constant Practice is about ongoing exploration and repetition.
In the utilitarian space, are there some lesser-known brands that you think created particularly interesting pieces?
ZH: Our personal favorite is Mandarina Duck, which is an Italian luggage company that ended up doing clothing and was around for five years. They made a lot of very progressive products, fabrics and designs. It's one of our favorites because it's extremely wearable and a lot of the details are very subtle. It's like if Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and ACRONYM had a baby.
Jonah Franke-Fuller: A lot of the smaller ones don't exist anymore. Vexed Generation is one few people know. Mickey Brazil is this cool small brand from the UK that made some utilitarian clothes in the '90s and 2000s.
ZH: Going back to the research aspect, there are a few brands we started stocking because of The Supermodern Wardrobe. It's a book from the early 2000s by Andrew Bolton, and it basically summarizes a bunch of brands from the late '90s, early 2000s that were doing very technical, function-driven clothing. The book included Mandarina Duck, Samsonite, Vexed Generation, Griffin, Final Home. You can't really find a lot of details or information about those brands online.
Who would you guys put on your Mount Rushmore of utilitarian design?
ZH: [Marithe Francois] Girbaud, Mandarina Duck and Issey Miyake. Issey was a master of silhouette, changing and modifying it. From a utility perspective, modular silhouettes and pockets were his forte. Issey does a good and fun job creating functional accessories as well, out of materials and shapes that you wouldn't think of using. We have a jumper cable belt from the '80s, which is like this rope wrapped in leather connected to a jumper cable. Issey is freer in finding the line between art object, functional object and clothing.
Girbaud used pockets and modularity too, but in a different sense, changing silhouette with drawstrings, cinching and layering. Mandarina Duck was the most scaled-back, with a more military uniform look and subtler details.
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