Pair of Kings
311 episodes listed below
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Pair of Kings is the men's fashion and culture podcast for the next generation of style. Hosted by Sol Thompson and Michael Smith in New York City, each weekly episode breaks down what's actually happening in menswear—from streetwear to archive fashion—and the trends reshaping how men dress in 2026 and beyond.We cover the full spectrum of current men's fashion: emerging designer brands and Grailed finds, vintage menswear, sneaker culture, and luxury collaborations, Japanese denim, and the Lower East Side revival we called before anyone else.Our interviews spotlight the creators, stylists, editors, and industry insiders pushing fashion forward—the ne...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Pair of Kings connects runway judgment and personal style to the labor, commerce and social life surrounding clothes.
Saul Thompson and Michael Smith treat fashion as a working culture, tracing clothes through runway presentation, regulation, resale, modeling and hands-on craft. Their conversations move easily between close attention to garments and the systems surrounding them.
An airport runway makes you reconsider whether your next flight deserves a suit.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A warm live fashion episode about New York access, shared support, and one very specific denim gripe.
Pair of Kings uses a live Orchard Street pop-up to show how a fashion community can widen the room for designers who might not have enough pieces, scale, or support to hold that kind of event on their own.
A loose Paris Fashion Week review where fit checks lead into close talk on collars, color, wearability, and commercial appeal.
Paris Fashion Week gives the hosts a flexible frame for a single-episode review built around fit checks, quick preferences, and a look-by-look debate over whether the collection offers more than styling.
A grounded small-brand conversation about A.V. Beamon, cowboy-ish details, and what makes a garment feel considered.
Pair of Kings turns toward the kind of small brands, creators, and stores that earn real devotion. The discussion settles most fully on A.V. Beamon, with a leather jacket held up as a strong, complete idea and a way into why moving past T-shirts and hoodies can show a different…
A fashion-rule spiral turns into a Rap Snacks argument with surprising cultural mileage.
Fashion gatekeeping turns into absurd bureaucracy in this Pair of Kings episode, as Saul Thompson's catfish idea moves through New York City's vintage-fashion status games before the conversation somehow ends up at Rap Snacks.
A fragrance conversation tests how taste, synthetic materials, and online authority get explained.
Perfume turns into a compact argument about expertise in Pair of Kings' Scentacular: 2026, as Saul Thompson and Michael Smith move through samples shaped by conversations with friends and fragrance people. The strongest thread is the scrutiny of scent language itself.
A loose, teasing fashion conversation with sharp detours and enough personality to carry it.
Pair of Kings uses Avery Truffleman’s visit to open up a broader talk about clothing, then drifts into gym wear, athleisure, and gorp-core. The hosts keep the tone loose and teasing, and the episode is at its best when that back-and-forth carries the point instead of trying to…
Streetwear, status, and the people deciding what still counts as taste.
Paul Hevener, Hypebeast's creative director, sits down with Saul Thompson and Michael Smith for a conversation that treats streetwear as a real culture, not a passing mood.
A loose, funny Pair of Kings chat about archive fashion, thrift finds, and where good shopping still hides.
This Pair of Kings episode keeps its easy rhythm while Tanya Ravichandran talks archive fashion, Alexander McQueen, thrift-store strategy, and where to find the best shops around the world.
A fashion historian traces clothing from military gear to Erin Brockovich's push-up bra.
Intimates talk with real-room energy.
Fashion talk with receipts, taste, and texture.
Runway judgment with group-chat voltage.
Pair of Kings hosts critique Paris and Milan Fashion Week FW26, discussing high and low points across collections.
The Pair of Kings podcast hosts Michael Smith and Saul Thompson kick off their annual Met Gala outfit ranking marathon, reviewing 307 looks using an S-through-F tier system.
Tailor and fashion historian Chloe Boxer discusses her dual career in on-set tailoring for fashion editorials and her origins in fashion forums and DIY clothing culture.
Pair of Kings spends much of this episode on Chrome Hearts, fake Rick Owens, and why some people stack luxury knockoffs so heavily that the outfit stops passing.
Pair of Kings: A Fashion and Culture Podcast 13.9 focuses on Glenn Martins' path from Y Project to Diesel and Margiela, with Saul Thompson and Michael Smith arguing over whether his current work still lands.
Season 13 of Pair of Kings centers on three concrete items: a September 26th–28th pop-up at Commune, a Lower East Side shopping update, and Saul Thompson’s map of 54 clothing stores.
Saul Thompson and Michael Smith use this Pair of Kings episode to map military surplus into streetwear and high fashion, with Church Street Surplus, Vetements, Balenciaga, and Maison Margiela as the main reference points.
Michael and Saul reunite after Michael spends three weeks in Italy, France, England, Venice, Rome, Nice, and Paris, and the conversation quickly turns into a long fashion catch-up.
Saul and Michael bring on their friend Tanya Ravichandran for a loose, fast conversation about archive fashion, Alexander McQueen, who Tanya calls Lee because she knows him like that, and the best places to shop around the world.
Pair of Kings opens on oncoming EU regulation and how it could reshape fashion.
Educational podcast episode
Ella Emhoff drops in.
Saul Thompson and Michael Smith open Pair of Kings with a January 16 birthday party for the podcast, free cake, a cash bar, and a future monthly event plan that starts in January.
Pair of Kings spends this final Season 13 episode on men’s style guides, with Saul Thompson calling many of them “glorified shopping lists” and pointing at GQ’s affiliate disclosures and a Fashion Beans piece by Jamie Millar.
Pair of Kings stays on Berlin Fashion Week and treats the trip like a live report on what was actually worth the noise.
Saul Thompson and Michael Smith bring Lauren Born Dubois into the room and kick things off the way they tend to: quick, messy, and already joking.
Mandy Lee, known as Old Loser in Brooklyn, says she started the account after a pandemic layoff and later moved from chain mail and resin rings into fashion TikTok.
Paul Heavener describes Hypebeast creative direction as brand-partner work across New York and London, with a team of 20 to 30 people handling shoots, events, product collaborations, and publishing.
Pair of Kings: A Fashion and Culture Podcast episode 13.5 follows Ella Emhoff and Michael Smith as they review Paris Fashion Week debuts, starting with a fit check that mentions Rick Owens, Yoji Yamamoto, Daft Punk merch, Story MFG pants, and Keen x Mad Happy sandals.
Avery Trufelman, the showrunner behind Articles of Interest, talks with Saul Thompson and Michael Smith about military clothes, military surplus, and the way special operations style reached civilian fashion.
Pair of Kings records a live episode from the Friends of Pair of Kings pop-up on Orchard Street, where Saul Thompson and Michael Smith bring together designers, shoppers, and a studio audience.
Caitlin Cunningham describes a 22-year basketball career that started at 16, moved through the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, and later turned into a selective pro return during the pandemic.
Pair of Kings podcast hosts interview Dr.
Saul and Michael interview NYC Council Member Chiyo Sei (District 36, representing Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights) about New York governance and housing crisis.
I have a grand issue with how scent is discussed online.
Pair of Kings Podcast - Chrome Hearts and Fashion
Sophia Stell joins Michael Smith and Saul Thompson on Pair of Kings, talks about her September 5 EP How to Win at Solitaire, and says she is in New York for two nights and playing a show that night.
Saul returns from a 21-day Grand Canyon private trip, says he wore the same seven items for about a month, and describes coming back with changed hair, skin, and speech.
Hosts introduce season 14's theme of integrated fashion, discussing how fashion now encompasses lifestyle and personality, with historical context and internet influence.
Hosts Saul Thompson and Michael Smith introduce themselves and guest Mian Chan, who promotes his brand Mixed Feelings, setting up a discussion on men's fashion and culture.
The hosts introduce themselves and their guests, setting up a casual discussion about men's fashion and culture.
The hosts introduce themselves and their guests from the Commune store, discussing the pop-up location and setting the stage for a conversation about fashion and culture.