MULTI-HYPHENATE DESIGNER-PHOTOGRAPHER-WRITER INTRODUCES THANK YOU COOL T-SHIRT COLLECTION

When we gathered everyone together for last month’s MR Awards, we had no idea that some of the design talent wasn’t on the stage or even, technically, in the audience. It turns out that one of our evening’s photographers, Marko Kalfa (who took those wonderful black-and-white candids) is also a budding creative with his own T-shirt collection that he’s positioning to become a brand that stands on its own. Maybe we’ll see Kalfa on the dais himself in a few years! (Marko, we still might need you to keep taking those great photographs, though.)

Kalfa’s self-described boutique streetwear brand, Thank You Cool, was founded just two years ago after he made the big move from NYC’s West Chelsea to the Jersey Shore on the outskirts of the bustling seaside town of Asbury Park.

“My parents are originally from Brooklyn, but we are all here by the sea now. My sister and her family live right across the way in Shark River Hills,” he shares. “The town of Asbury Park has gone through a renaissance of late and is chock full of inspired restaurants, shops…outdoor markets, Danny Clinch’s Gallery, and The Stone Pony. There’s a lot of history here.”

Thank You Cool’s designs are graphic-driven and are immediately engaging. Simple, familiar, and steeped in nostalgia, the designs are also modern and fresh. The reappropriation of brand logos from the seventies and eighties is a recurring theme. The word BABE is scrawled across the familiar red flag icon mimicking the classic Budweiser logo. The word High Life, adorned with a marijuana leaf, is an updated version of the Miller Beer logo. Tee shirts with illustrations of cherries, bananas, and melting ice cream cones are pure eye candy and are reminiscent of hand-painted boardwalk iconography of days gone by.

“The collection is very simple right now. It mostly consists of T-shirts and sweatshirts, but it’s a jumping-off point. I don’t want to get in over my head. I’m developing shorts and swim trunks with amazing prints, patches, and embroidery, but it’s going to take some time,” he offers. I’m in no rush. I’m into these eighties-style oversized cropped tees. I’m going to use these a lot for next summer.”

Kalfa got his feet wet in fashion by collaborating with Carlos Campos back in the mid-aughts to create a menswear brand called Guido. In no time, celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin, and The Killers were sporting their designs. They were quickly catapulted to rising star status for several years to come.

“Guido was a big lesson for us. People assumed we were much bigger than we were. We went from doing tees and trunks in Carlos’ tiny studio in the garment center to producing full collections, showing along side Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford during New York Fashion Week. My friends all thought we were rolling in cash back then. Meanwhile, I was jumping the turnstiles trying to make my appointments with a hundred bucks in the bank…the glamour! The whole business of fashion has changed dramatically since then, obviously. Instagram and TikTok didn’t exist. Now, everyone has a brand these days…I get it. But if you do it right and focus on what truly inspires you, you can set yourself apart. Luck and connections seem to help. I’m not reinventing the wheel here but design from a very soulful place. I’ve lived these designs in one way or another. As a kid, I was obsessed with music and logos, album art, posters…still am. Bands like Kiss, Blondie, and The Cars were everything to me. Every T-shirt tells a story,” he muses.

“People always ask if I’m afraid of a lawsuit because of the beer logos and the Stallone stuff. I think I’ve modified the designs just enough. Hey, if I get a ‘cease and desist,’ then it means that people are starting to take notice, right? Warhol was always a big influence on me, especially in my younger days. He got away with it, right?”

Kalfa’s plans for the label include limited-edition collaborations with other brands and designers to be featured on the site every quarter or so. He has projects in development with former partner Carlos Campos, fashion icon Patricia Field, the famed New York eatery Cafeteria, and illustrator/artist Jeffrey Fulvimari, to name a few. Plans for pop-up markets are in the works for New York City, The Hamptons, and of course, the Jersey Shore. For more information, visit thankyoucool.com.