Nasty Boy

Of his nickname "McNasty," which is embroidered on the side of his baseball cap, designer Mark McNairy proudly says he's earned it. "I've heard that my whole life. 'McScary,' 'McHairy.' whatever. A lot of people think I'm an asshole. Plus, I am grouchy and nasty sometimes."

Surrounded by his second collection for Bee Line, the clothing company he launched earlier this summer with Pharrell Williams (think preppy ruffian meets hip-hop elite), McNairy is far from grumpy this afternoon. Recently dubbed an "indie menswear darling" by The New York Times, he is the brains behind three successful lines, Bee Line, Woolrich Woolen Mills and his own label, Mark McNairy New Amsterdam, which sells everything from classic saddle shoes with Willy Wonka-colored soles (a much-copied trend McNairy kick-started in footwear) to T-shirts that say: "Fuck Ivy," in reference to the Ivy League style book Take Ivy that is coveted by male fashion freaks. "I got sick of hearing about that fucking book, so I sold mine on eBay for $1,500," he deadpans.

It's McNairy's shoes, some made exclusively for epicenters of underground cool like the store Union in Los Angeles, that have made him the most popular man on guy sites like Slamxhype and GQ.com. But McNairy manufactures what he wants, like a pinky ring engraved simply with "Fuck You," in cursive. "The only limitations are the rules that I have in my head," he says.

"Mark's 'Fuck Off' personality is what makes his designs completely original and so desirable." --  Ryan Babenzien, CEO of Boast

McNairy moved to Manhattan from Greensboro, North Carolina ("probably the most boring place on earth"), in 1986. He began selling "cheap lady's clothes" out of a car and then started the label Finis with his ex-wife. Finis lasted almost nine years. "It looked very successful from the outside, but we were a small, underfinanced mom-and-pop business," he explains, rubbing his arm, which is tattooed with the name of his daughter, Daisy. "As the business got bigger, the problems got bigger and I couldn't deal with it anymore; so I quit." After Finis, McNairy had a vintage-inspired clothing business called 68 & Brothers, then his own line called McNairy Brothers, before he was hired to re-vamp the classic-prep label J.Press. "They wouldn't let me do what they hired me to do," he says, so after five years he left. Soon after, he was the most under-the-radar designer with the most rabid fans. McNairy's Wizard of Oz-like presence (he is rarely photographed) only adds to the mystery; his fans log on to his site hourly to see the latest offerings before they sell out.

As for his own shoe collection, to find the pair of zebra print Chukkas he is wearing, he had to crawl over mounds of shoes."I'm like Imelda Marcos," he admits, cracking a rare grin. "I have an attic closet that is crammed with shoes and I have 20 pairs on my bedroom floor." He looks around at the racks of Bee Line gear in every corner of the showroom. "Clothes, too," he quickly adds. "It's sick. It's out of control."