The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1306768
D esigners or creators, whether their focus is in fashion or a different art form, have a moment, object or memory that attaches them to their work. Something that resonates in the back of their mind through each of their design processes. For Josh Bennett, a luxury men's hand knitwear designer, it began on a day that he saw someone in khaki shorts, an inside-out sweatshirt and a pair of laceless boat shoes. "I remember being fascinated and I went out with my mom and bought the shoes," Josh recalled. A faint memory that marks the moment that Josh found a fiery love for fashion and design. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Josh was not frequently exposed to high-fashion pieces and unique styles, so when he saw something eccentric and different for the first time, he grew an intense attraction to fashion. At the blossoming age of eight, Josh's grandmother taught him how to knit, leading to the success of his bustling line of hand knitted sweaters. "Where I grew up, boys didn't knit," Josh explained and went on to say that if a boy was going to do something creative, they were going to do musical theater, so that is what he did. When working in a theater, Josh discovered that many of the people he worked with knitted and it reignited his love for knitting and designing. "I picked it (knitting) back up again and moved to Manhattan and have knit everyday since then," Josh said. In 2010, Josh attended e Fashion Institute of Technology where he studied Menswear and was also designing for a knitting magazine at the time. Recognizing a lack of menswear patterns in the magazine, he decided to create his own knitwear and reached out to his favorite designer, Michael Bastion. Josh met with a PR agent and they hit it off, immediately. Within three weeks of working for Bastion, Bennett was asked to do a collection with Bastian and they began designing it. Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fih Avenue both sold pieces from their collaboration at their stores. "Everyone I went to school with hated their internships and I was going to mine and laughing and having a great time and getting work done," Josh said, "you want to be the person you want to work with." V U E N J . C O M 61