Why Cloney Is the Streetwear Brand That Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber Love

Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images

Why Cloney Is the Streetwear Brand That Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber Love

Pop culture and fashion unite! Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber (neé Baldwin), Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Kate Hudson, Busy Philipps, Luka Sabbat, Tracee Ellis Ross, Alessandra Ambrosio and Ashton Kutcher have proven themselves to be trendsetters across multiple platforms, but one thing they all have in common is their love of streetwear and accessory brand Cloney. Designer and founder Duke Christian George III is the man behind it all and through his original designs, the line has generated a few iconic viral moments.

Some examples: Grande rocked Cloney's Benji hoodie when she stepped out with her now ex-fiancé Pete Davidson in NYC while enjoying a lollipop. The photo turned into a famous meme and fans began copying her look for everything from Halloween costumes to their everyday outfits. Months later, Baldwin shared a selfie in a customized 'Bieber' TopGun hat after her husband took to social media to defend their marriage. In turn, followers viewed it as a sign of the model's support for the 25-year-old singer and his sentiment. Bottom line, it's safe to say that George III's designs make statements.

How he does it? By creating clothing that tells a story. George III started as a professional dancer for Britney Spears, Queen Latifah and Diddy, went on to work under Kanye West's stylist Charlene Roxborough and has even acted alongside Johnny Depp and Erika Christensen. He uses his experiences and gets inspiration from what's hot right now to make gear influenced by music, movies, television, sports, high-end designers, food and more. 

"I feel like I create conversation pieces that are all from different parts and times of my life and that's the reason that my designs relate to so many different age ranges and people," he explains. "I kind of let my designs take a life of their own and see who will respond to that." 

Scroll through to hear what else the designer had to say!

Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images

Why Cloney Is the Streetwear Brand That Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber Love

Pop culture and fashion unite! Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber (neé Baldwin), Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Kate Hudson, Busy Philipps, Luka Sabbat, Tracee Ellis Ross, Alessandra Ambrosio and Ashton Kutcher have proven themselves to be trendsetters across multiple platforms, but one thing they all have in common is their love of streetwear and accessory brand Cloney. Designer and founder Duke Christian George III is the man behind it all and through his original designs, the line has generated a few iconic viral moments.

Some examples: Grande rocked Cloney's Benji hoodie when she stepped out with her now ex-fiancé Pete Davidson in NYC while enjoying a lollipop. The photo turned into a famous meme and fans began copying her look for everything from Halloween costumes to their everyday outfits. Months later, Baldwin shared a selfie in a customized 'Bieber' TopGun hat after her husband took to social media to defend their marriage. In turn, followers viewed it as a sign of the model's support for the 25-year-old singer and his sentiment. Bottom line, it's safe to say that George III's designs make statements.

How he does it? By creating clothing that tells a story. George III started as a professional dancer for Britney Spears, Queen Latifah and Diddy, went on to work under Kanye West's stylist Charlene Roxborough and has even acted alongside Johnny Depp and Erika Christensen. He uses his experiences and gets inspiration from what's hot right now to make gear influenced by music, movies, television, sports, high-end designers, food and more. 

"I feel like I create conversation pieces that are all from different parts and times of my life and that's the reason that my designs relate to so many different age ranges and people," he explains. "I kind of let my designs take a life of their own and see who will respond to that." 

Scroll through to hear what else the designer had to say!

Credit: Courtesy of Cloney

How He Started

Cloney began with one tee. "When I first started Cloney, I wanted to start a t-shirt brand and a lot of times when I was making something I would just think, 'There should be a t-shirt for that. ...Streetwear was starting to become more popular and so I made a shirt and I was like, 'Wow, this is cool' and people started wearing it. Then I made another t-shirt and more people wore it and it kept me motivated," he says. Since then, he's created sweatshirts, hats, pants and more with standout pieces including the Big Mistake HUGE hoodie, Recycled Artist tank, and Gangsters Coaches jacket  that celebs have all been photographed in.

Credit: Giovanni Reda

His Creative Process

Beyond looking to the current trends, the designer says he gets inspiration from anything and anywhere. George III tells Stylish, "I generate a lot of ideas during my jogs. ...A lot of my ideas have a nostalgic feel and play on the time when I grew up and things that I've learned. My parents were very fashionable, so I got a lot from them too. ...I just have fun with it and it's crazy how creative you can get when you focus on purely the love and passion of it and I think that's why people responded to it and continue to."

Credit: Courtesy of Hailey Baldwin/Instagram

Why Celebs Love It

Since there's a piece that everyone can connect to, it's no surprise why A-listers have been flocking to the brand. "I think the range of our customers is very vast and can be anybody. I design unisex pieces and wanted to start something that everybody could wear in different ways," he dishes. "I also think the fact that it has an exclusive element to it and that you have to know somebody to buy it gives Cloney a cool factor. ...We have around 3,000 Instagram followers and that's sort of become our thing and it's like only the 'who's who' knows about it."

Credit: Gotham/GC Images

How He Felt When Ariana Grande Wore His Hoodie

"When Ariana wore the Benji hoodie, it was a really crazy thing," he admits. "I got the picture sent to me and it felt like I was getting a big audition and it was surreal ...Then it became a meme and then a Halloween costume and it was a really big fashion moment and let me know I was doing something unique. ...It validated that the brand is cool and allows me to learn what to make going forward," he explains.

Credit: than Miller/Getty Images

The Next Celeb He Wants to See in His Clothing

While George III is grateful for all the brand's fans, he's hoping to see LeBron James rock his designs next. "I would love to see LeBron wear a hat. It would be a really cool moment for me since he's on the Lakers now and Cloney is an L.A. based brand," he reveals. But as much as that would mean to him, it makes him just as happy when he spots his designs out in the world. "When I see someone wearing my clothing down the street, it means just as much to me because I know that means they really wanted it and had to try hard to get it and in a way, that's even better."