KING OF THE NIGHT – Daily Front Row

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In New York City, where the velvet rope is both a metaphor and a nightly reality, personal style isn’t just expression; it’s access. Barış Koroglu, the hospitality force behind two of Manhattan’s buzziest restaurants; Aquarelle in the East Village, and Dejavu, the West Village Supperclub and Caviar Espresso Bar, has spent years watching how men show up, and too often fall short when it comes to style. Now, Köroğlu is channeling his insider perspective into a new venture: a menswear line built entirely around perfect essentials.

After almost a Decade working in nightlife and hospitality, Barış saw a need to help men look their best. Men need fewer options, so he decided to launch his own capsule collection. Called Barış, the collection reflects the man himself: refined, direct, impeccably edited, and rooted in a deep understanding of what actually works in real life. For Köroğlu, this isn’t fashion theory, it’s fieldwork.

“As a restaurateur, I’m out every night,” Köroğlu says. “I see the full spectrum of men’s style, what works, what’s missing, and what instantly elevates someone the second they walk in.”

From dining rooms to VIP lounges, Köroğlu has developed a rare vantage point on modern men’s style. He sees what catches the eye, what reads as effortless confidence, and what quietly commands respect before a single word is spoken.

Barış Koroglu by Lyss Lester

And he noticed a pattern: men want to look sharp, but they’re overwhelmed by choice, confused by trends, and left without a reliable foundation for everyday dressing.

“Men don’t need 40 options” Köroğlu says. “They just need the right pieces in their wardrobe”

Barış launches with a sharply curated lineup of “perfect essentials,”each one engineered to anchor a full wardrobe, dress up or down, and move seamlessly from business meetings to late-night tables at New York’s most exclusive rooms.

The debut collection includes:

• The Perfect Black Suit Jacket: Tailored for clean structure, commanding presence, and absolute versatility.
• The Perfect Black Pants: A universal base that pairs with everything and elevates anything.
• The Perfect White Button-Down: Crisp, confident, and engineered for polish—without stiffness.
• The Perfect Black Turtleneck: Köroğlu’s personal signature, designed with a sleek, powerful silhouette.
• The Perfect Felt Jacket: Transitional, architectural, and ideal for the man who wants presence without pretense.
• The Perfect Leather Jacket: Edgy but refined—European attitude meets New York precision.

Each piece is built around Köroğlu’s commitment to simplicity that strikes, elegance without ego, and style choices that remove friction rather than add it. The line is intentionally trend-resistant, these are clothes designed for longevity, not fashion cycles.

Barış Koroglu by Lyss Lester

Working at the intersection of hospitality and culture, Köroğlu has seen firsthand how the right look can shift a room. “Your outfit speaks before you do,” he says. “If you want to be at the table where things happen, you have to look like you belong there.”

Barış is designed to democratize that access, to give men a wardrobe that signals confidence, sophistication, and readiness. Clothes that help men walk through the door, glide past the velvet rope, and step into the moments where opportunity lives.

Köroğlu’s journey from restaurateur to designer isn’t a pivot; it’s a natural extension of his world. At Aquarelle, he built one of the East Village’s most magnetic scenes, blending Mediterranean warmth with New York edge. At Dejavu, he curated a nightlife experience that feels equal parts luxe, intimate, and electric.

Barış Koroglu by Lyss Lester

His restaurants are masterclasses in ambiance, detail, and aesthetic clarity, the same principles now animating Barış. “I create environments where people feel their best. This is the same idea, just expressed through clothing,” he says.

The Barış man is international, culturally fluent, and always in motion. He needs clothes that transition: day to night, meeting to martini, gallery opening to late-night reservation. The line is designed not only to elevate personal style but to remove the friction from it.

Barış Koroglu by Lyss Lester

“Men today want life to be simple,” Köroğlu says. “These pieces do the work for you.”

While Barış is launching as a capsule, Köroğlu hints at a broader universe to come, expansion into footwear, outerwear, and even grooming. What began as a solution for the men he sees every night is now on track to evolve into a lifestyle brand grounded in confidence, culture, and modern masculinity.

For a man who understands that the right look isn’t superficial, but strategic, the next frontier in menswear feels inevitable.

“With Barış,” he says, “I’m giving men the tools to show up as their strongest selves, wherever they’re going to get through the velvet ropes”

The collect is available on Instagram DM Barış @Barışnykoroglu

In Partnership with APG

You can view the original article HERE.