Byas & Leon
All photos by Curt Saunders for Black-Owned Brooklyn
Rony Byas (left) and Harvey Leon, co-owners of Byas & Leon boutique, are native New Yorkers — born in Queens and Brooklyn, respectively. But don’t get it twisted. “We Haitian Haitian,” Harvey says of their strong cultural ties as first-generation kids.
To help support Haiti’s economic progress, in 2013 the childhood friends launched their line of button-down shirts, hand-cut-and-sewn in Haiti by Haitian tailors who they pay a thriving wage. “We didn’t want Haiti to continue to just be given things,” Harvey says. “We wanted people to make their own things and develop their own economies.” ⠀⠀
When it came time to open a brick and mortar in January of 2019, Rony and Harvey expanded their offerings to include other Black-owned brands committed to ethical and sustainable fashion. Byas & Leon now serves as a hub for handcrafted garments and accessories from fair-trade, zero-waste, independent companies, along with an inspired selection of curated vintage.
“Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet,” Rony explains. “Especially with climate change, sustainability has taken on increasing importance to us personally, and we want the store to reflect that.”
“We don’t care for gender identifiers, so we don’t bother separating our shop into men and women’s sections.We mix it all together.”
“Rony and I consider the ‘60s and ‘70s to be the golden era of Black fashion,” Harvey says of the personal style aesthetic shared by him and his business partner, both 29. Although the self-proclaimed old souls say they didn’t consciously stock Byas & Leon with wares evocative of the era, the store nonetheless exudes retro bohemian vibes.
Racks of carefully selected vintage clothing carry shirts in kaleidoscopic prints, textured pants of tweed and corduroy, suede fringe jackets, and vests with colorful patterns — all displayed in a genderless, fluid presentation. “We don’t care for gender identifiers, so we don’t bother separating our shop into men and women’s sections,” Harvey says. “We mix it all together.”
Deep red walls are lined with framed art and, further cementing its ‘60s/’70s mood, the boutique is accented with soft velvet couches and a massive, mural-sized sketch of the patron saint of Black rock iconography, Jimi Hendrix.
As Rony and Harvey plan their next trip to Haiti to ramp up production on a new Byas & Leon collection, the shop (in addition to vintage clothing) showcases several other sustainable fashion lines. Check out Black-owned, handcrafted jewelry brands 84 Gem, Lingua Nigra and the Gilded Stone, as well as minimalist ethical clothing from India by the Summerhouse.
Byas & Leon also hosts a regular roster of community events such as photo walks, art exhibitions, a comedy night, book readings and, just last week, an “Ancestors in Training” workshop on ways to positively impact future generations. “The spiritual purpose of this place,” Harvey says, “Is to help creatives, entrepreneurs, activists and organizers move our collective people onward and upward.”
