Michael Bastian was born in Lyons, New York, a small Upstate town near Lake Ontario.
After graduating from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, he moved to New York City, where his first job was as an Assistant Buyer at Abraham & Strauss.
This was followed by positions within Sotheby’s, Tiffany & Co., Polo Ralph Lauren, and most recently, Bergdorf Goodman, where he was the men’s fashion director for five years. It was this experience that led Bastian to launch his own menswear line, MICHAEL BASTIAN.
“Through the process of setting the men’s fashion direction for Bergdorf Goodman, it became increasingly clear to me that there was a real need for a new American voice in the men’s designer world—something modern and luxurious, but also a little broken down and familiar.
I start with something perfectly designed and executed, then spend a lot of time knocking the edge off of that perfection.” Now in its ninth season, MICHAEL BASTIAN is carried in over 50 retail locations in America, Canada, Japan, Europe and the Middle East.
Fall 2010 [saw] the launch of a new special collaboration, GANT by Michael Bastian….
This collection will be widely distributed in over 60 countries worldwide, in both GANT stores and independent specialty retailers. He is a resident of New York City.
Photos & text Copyright Gant.