Roland Martin has expanded his brand beyond political chatter. The CNN contributor recently launched a men’s neckwear line, comprised mostly of ascots.
“Men have very few fashion choices,” he explained to Yeas & Nays. “I’m not a bow-tie guy at all, I don’t like wearing ties a lot of places, so I like the idea of having something a little different where you can dress it up, you can look very chic, very casual and elegant – hopefully other guys can catch on.” Martin, after getting a lot of attention for ascot wearing on TV, partnered up with the Baltimore-based company Verse 9 to create a line of ascots, ties and bow-ties for sale online. Back in November, he had joined ESPN and The Washington Post’s Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser on “Pardon the Interruption” for “Ascot Day.”
In May, Martin became the butt of Jon Stewart‘s jokes on “The Daily Show” for wearing the colorful neck scarves.
“Is this CNN’s big plan to come back in the ratings?” Stewart asked at the time. “Just get a trunk of costumes and let their anchors play dress up.”
Martin defended his style and Stewart, wearing an ascot, later conceded. With his fashion line debut, Martin also told Yeas & Nays who he considers stylish on TV, and who he doesn’t. Glenn Beck, he said, is the absolute worst.
“He is awful,” Martin said. “He used to wear some stuff at CNN that I knew he dressed in a dark room with some shades on, his look is god awful.”
He also finds Rick Sanchez‘s wardrobe to be dull.
“I always tell Rick, ‘Dude, I thought you were Cuban, can I please see some Cuban flair somewhere in your clothes?'” Martin said laughing. He gave more positive marks to NBC’s Brian Williams, CNN’s Ali Velshi and CNN’s John Roberts, whose taste has improved since dating CNN anchor Kyra Phillips.
“His ties have gotten a lot better,” Martin said. To purchase a Roland Martin ascot visit rolandsmartinbyverse9.com.
