From an outside perspective, New York City might be all subway car meltdowns, sidewalk confrontations, silly snowstorm shenanigans, and ballads sung from bicycles—essentially, everything that can be seen on the @WhatIsNewYork Instagram. While all of those things feel so true and occur commonly, the day-to-day of New Yorkers mostly consists of small moments like encounters with bodega cats, internalized frustrations with man-spreaders on trains, silent sits on stoops, and artists of all mediums chipping away at pursuing their dream—and with hopes that it will amount to something allowing them to comfortably remain in the city.
Ben Oleynik’s Grand Collection has always been about the core of New York City and has represented this through who is cast for runway shows and campaigns: the skaters, artists, and unsung heroes that make the city what it is. Now, the brand just dropped a short film titled 8 Scenes From New York, “a striped back documentation of poetry, aspiration, and beautiful monotony of daily life in New York,” Oleynik writes.
The film features Ryhan Aboah doing pull-ups on a rusted playground, model and influencer Cassie Jekanoski flipping through print magazines, Fallou Seck setting up his film camera and then setting up for the perfect shot, skater Connor Champion taking a breather and sipping on a coffee on a brownstone stoop, actress and skateboarder Dede Lovelace thoughtfully working on a painting, jewelry designer George William taking a close, intentional look at something through a telescope, Claire Zhu enjoying a quiet solo meal, and James Oleynik smoking a nice cigar.
Ben Oleynik
Ben Oleynik
All in all, both the hustle bustle and the much needed moments of semi-quiet and leisure in between were so perfectly captured—and all while wearing Grand Collection‘s practical pieces made for the movement that NYC requires.
Ben Oleynik
Ben Oleynik