Marc Louis Ecko (né Milecofsky; August 29, 1972) is an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and artist.
He is the founder and
Chief Creative Officer of fashion company
Ecko Unlimited.
He also founded ''
Complex'' magazine in 2002.
Early life and education
Milecofsky was born in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
on August 29, 1972.
He was brought up with his twin Marci and an older sister, Shari, in suburban
Lakewood, New Jersey, where his father was a pharmacist and his mother was a real estate broker. In 1996, Milecofsky legally changed his name to Ecko; he had intended to use "Echo", a name he was known by at home, but since he wanted to build a brand out of the name and the name "Echo" was already taken, he settled on the alternate spelling.
Ecko entered
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...
's School of Pharmacy in New Brunswick, New Jersey after high school. During his time in college he painted
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
and practiced drawing, taking "Ecko" for his name. In his third year, the school's dean encouraged Ecko to take a year off and pursue art.
Career
In 1993, Ecko started
Ecko Unltd. as a T-shirt company, with small investments from his sister and a friend, Seth Gerszberg. He traveled to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
to learn about the clothing industry. Early clients
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
and
Chuck D helped bring attention to his fledgling business, as did a ''
Good Morning America'' segment that featured his T-shirt designs.
[Good Morning America segment featuring Ecko's t-shirt designs](_blank)
The company expanded further into hip-hop and skater styles, and began to sport a rhinoceros logo.
Ecko's businesses have expanded to include ''
Complex'' magazine, video and social gaming, and
venture capital.
Ecko was appointed to the Board of Directors of the
Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA); the youngest designer to do so.
Since 2010, he has been a member of the Emeritus Board.
In 2008, he created the new jackets for the Iron Chefs on ''
Iron Chef America''.
Personal life
Ecko is
Jewish.
[ In 2000, Ecko married Allison Rojas. They have three children and live in Bernardsville, New Jersey.]
Published work
On October 1, 2013, Ecko released an autobiographical business book, ''Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out''.[Marc Eckō, ''Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out'', ]Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...
, New York, NY, 2013.
See also
* '' Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecko, Marc
1972 births
Living people
Artists from New Jersey
American businesspeople in retailing
American fashion businesspeople
American fashion designers
American investors
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Jewish American philanthropists
Jewish fashion designers
People from Bernardsville, New Jersey
People from East Brunswick, New Jersey
People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey
People from Livingston, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
Lakewood High School (New Jersey) alumni
21st-century American Jews