The Youthful Stylings of Kooter Brown

Don't worry—it'll only shirt a little

By CHRISTINE LIU

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There's something about the toothbrush that I don't quite understand, but I remain trustful of this bristled moment. I sit back and watch as Zach Cohn busts out a hulking, unabashedly blanged-out gold chain, upon which dangles (honest to god) a red plastic full-sized toothbrush. Grinning, he throws it around his neck, layering the pendant elegantly within the folds of his sweatshirt. It's a bit ridiculous yet oddly holds cred, a good way of summing up his current clothing designs.

Half of the brains—or perhaps one third, spiritually speaking—behind Boston-based streetwear label Kooter Brown (whose website, by the way, teems with flying toothbrushes), Cohn, along with biz partner and "friends since 7th grade" fashion maven Eli Cragin, produces a brand inspired and driven by the ski and snowboard lifestyle. It's also a fitting tribute to Cohn's late brother Alex, who died last year from viral meningitis at the age of 18. Right until the end, Alex was an avid snow tripper within his $ki BLoCk crew, constructing and giving away strikingly hand-decorated T-shirts to wear over jackets on the slopes ("hotdog-baby-monkey trio," notes elder Cohn on a quintessential design). He lives on through big bro's budding '90s-inspired line. "We thought it was a sick idea, what the industry really lacked," Cohn says in regard to Kooter Brown's roots in snow culture. The current lineup of shirts, all printed locally on 100% organic cotton, luxuriate in heavy saturated colors and bold geometries, each tagged with a childhood photo of Alex (an adorable punkass kid in baggy jeans and a backwards cap) and stamped with Kooter Brown's insignia—Cohn admits being "really stoked on the KB logo."

As Kooter Brown's new seasonal collection is imminent, the line will grow slowly but steadily. The guys are enthused by a small but tight selection of designs. Their personable, instinctive business structure allows "the freedom to do whatever we want" and "control over how it looks."

"I want keep it small, keep it local. It's really about carrying out my brother's idea," says Cohn earnestly. "I'm happy because he'd be happy about it."

[Available at Technical, 230 Newbury St., Boston. 617.262.0003. technicalshops.com and Orchard Skateshop, 1562 Tremont St., Mission Hill, Boston. 617.730.5700. orchardshop.com. kooter4real.com]