THE SHAPE OF STAYING: RODNEY PATTERSON AND THE QUIET FORCE OF ESENSHEL
Words by Carolyn Gray
Photography by Brandon Battle
I like to think about the environment around a conversation—the small details that tell you something before a person has had the chance to explain themselves.
On this particular morning, I was walking through the East Village from Astor Place toward East 4th Street, where Esenshel sits quietly among the neighborhood’s movement. When I arrived, I expected to find my team outside waiting for me. Instead, I found Rodney Patterson sitting in a folding chair in front of his store, looking down at his phone. He wore a blue chambray shirt, culottes, and sneakers. Nothing about him suggested a nervous energy around the fact he was preparing to be photographed or interviewed. He was simply there... unhurried, settled, and completely himself.
That first image stayed with me.
Rodney’s work carries presence. His hats are sculptural, architectural, sometimes dramatic in proportion, and immediately recognizable to those who know them. But the person behind them is not interested in performing importance. When he welcomed me inside, it felt less like entering a showroom or store than entering a point of view that had been carefully protected.
The store is minimal but warm: hats positioned in the front window in natural tones, black, and gray; chrome tables and shelving against deep black walls; each silhouette given enough space to be seen. Nothing feels crowded or decorative for decoration’s sake. The hats are the architecture of the room.
As our team moved through the space, I began to notice the same thing in Rodney that I had noticed in the store: restraint. At one point, I admitted that I had always thought of Esenshel as maximalist. Rodney smiled and gently corrected me. "No," he explained. "It's actually minimal."
That distinction became increasingly important as we talked.
ShopBoy was founded by Desmond and his wife, Kendall, not simply to alter clothing, but to reconsider the experience surrounding alteration altogether. Desmond's years working within luxury fashion taught him something he has carried into the business: the product alone cannot create luxury. The experience must meet it. Eye contact. Manners. Hospitality. Good work. The seemingly small things that ultimately determine how someone feels when they enter a room.
That distinction changed the way I looked at the work.
Because Esenshel isn't minimal in the way we've been taught to imagine it. It isn't about removing personality or reducing everything to its barest form.
It's about precision.
Every curve, proportion, material, and architectural gesture exists for a reason. Nothing is added simply to be noticed, yet everything has enough conviction to command attention.
The result is clarity.
The hats have weight and shape. They can alter the entire feeling of a person’s outfit before you notice anything else they are wearing. Yet Rodney explained it simply: the shapes are clean, the colors are intentional, the materials are natural. That is still minimalism to him.
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Issue 004
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PRODUCTION
Words by
Carolyn Gray
Photography
Brandon Battle