Marc Eckō

Marc Ecko

Marc Louis Milecofsky ( commonly known as Marc Eckō), born on August 29, 1972 is an American investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, artist and fashion designer. He founded a lifestyle and billion-dollar company, Marc Eckō Enterprises and is its Chief Creative Officer. He is also founded Complex Media, a network of fashion websites target at 20 something males.

He was brought up along with Shani (elder sister) and Marci (twin brother) in New Jersey’s Lakewood, where his mother worked as a real-estate broker and father worked as a pharmacist. The siblings went to local public schools.

During his teenage years, Eckō transformed the garage of his parents into a showroom and studio in order to create and market t-shirts, hip-hop outfits and airbrushing female fingernails. After high school, he joined the Rutgers University Pharmacy School. While in college, he experimented with graffiti and became engrossed in drawing. His tag name became Eckō. During the third year of his college years, the dean encouraged him to take a few months off to pursue his interest and dream.

He never returned to the pharmacy school. Instead in 1993, he began his company with financial support from Seth Gerszberg (friend) and his sister. Around this time, Marc visited Hong Kong to explore and learn about the country’s clothing industry. His fledging business garnered some attention when people like Chuck D. and Spike Lee became his clients. In addition to this, an American morning show that featured Marc’s t-shirt creations also uplifted the image and popularity of the designer’s brand. The company then expanded into skates and hip-hop style clothing and began to market under a logo with a rhinoceros silhouette. Since then, Eckō unltd has grown into a huge business with full collections of urban accessories and clothes for men, women and children. Moreover, he expanded his business to social and video gaming, project capital funds and Complex Media, an internet publishing company targeting young men . In 2008, Eckō made exclusive jackets for Iron Chef America.

Eckō became the youngest fashion designer to become a part of the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Board of Directors, to receive such an honor at the time. Since the year 2010, he has also been among the members of Emeritus Board.

Eckō has taken the logo of his company very seriously, which means that he has been involved in philanthropic activities that encompass support for endangered population of rhinoceros all through the world. Additionally he has been helpful in funding an orphanage in Ukraine. In 2004, the designer established the Sweat Equity Education, a non-profit corporation to increase the success of underserved urban students by giving them opportunities in the fields of design and business. Groups of students are guided, encouraged and trained to meet clientele challenges, do problem-solving, learn to communicate and collaborate and hope to see their victorious designs officially used and sold in department stores. This is a great way not only to dig in new talents but also to groom and nurture potential designers. Apart from this, Marc Eckō has also launched several social activism movements on behalf of the students of America.

In 2013, he released his debut book, called Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out. In this project, Eckō has deeply focused on the subject of genuineness/authenticity, telling the secrets of how he made a five thousand dollar investment into billion dollar label.

Marc has been designing t-shirts since he was in eighth grade and a year before this he purchased a book on graffiti. By the time he reached high-school, he wore his own designed t-shirts and people were impressed enough to ask where he got it from.