On February 17 2006, Kelly Gray was in the audience at the Erie Civic Center Complex in Erie, Pennsylvania, at her first Mötley Crüe concert. She was on a long-overdue break from the fashion industry, and while a hardcore rock performance was the last place she thought she’d find herself, she had recently become acquainted with the band’s drummer, Tommy Lee, who invited her to come to a gig on their Carnival of Sins tour.

So unfamiliar was Kelly with that world that she had to Google Mötley Crüe, and she still hesitated, assuming – as most rock concert novices might – that it might all be a bit rough. But the energy and sheer vibrancy of that first gig did it for her: “I was hooked,” she said.

Post-show, she was hanging with Tommy in his dressing room when she was introduced to Nikki Sixx, the band’s bassist and songwriter. He still had on his stage make-up, all black eyes and wild hair, as arresting as he was intimidating. Kelly called him ‘Mr Sixx’. He didn’t correct her.

Sometime after the tour ended, Nikki and Kelly reconnected over lunch. By the time the dishes were cleared, they realized they were creative consorts. They shared an affinity with fashion, and were both similarly attuned to what turned them on when it came to style. After lunch, they walked around stores in Beverly Hills, Kelly soignée and immaculate, Nikki tattooed and casual. What they saw – or didn’t – convinced them that a niche existed for a high-end men’s clothing collection with a distinctive rock star vibe; not thrown-together vintage tees, not facsimiles of stage clothing, not even the kind of generic rock-inspired looks that have filtered down to the mass retailer.

A flurry of Blackberry-generated emails and latte-fueled all-night brainstorming sessions followed. Kelly brought to the table her incisive insights into the fashion industry, and a wealth of contacts culled during her tenure at St. John. Nikki brought an eclectic style that had its genesis in his high school days, when he fused together looks as varied as punk and Goth and glam-rock.

The result: Royal Underground. It has the aura of unattainability personified by Nikki and Kelly, and the motifs and edgy cool that make you think ‘rock star’. It’s cloaked in intrigue, long on comfort, and as impressive as a combination of Nikki Sixx and Kelly Gray could be thought to be. It’s cashmere and antiqued leather and carries details that you come across by chance, like naughty little secrets. It’s an outgrowth of a world that loves its hardcore rock music but hungers for prestige. It’s for people that don’t scrimp on what’s on their skin. And it’s here now.