The Fresh Prince of Streetwear

Wearing red Hermès sneakers, a gray smoking jacket-cardigan hybrid of his own design, and five pounds of pure gold draped around his neck, Jonathan Koon walks around his Midtown Manhattan showroom inspecting his new line of high-end denim. Nearly a dozen pairs of hand-washed, uniquely distressed and abraded jeans from his spring 2011 collection are laid out on a coffee table. Koon picks up one pair and turns a pocket inside out to reveal his signature sartorial touch—an ancient Chinese poem, "Bringing in the Wine," by the scholar Li Bai, inscribed in the fabric. "It basically says, 'If there's a chance to be happy, or a chance to drink, drink and be happy to your heart's desire,' " Koon translates.

It also describes Koon's philosophy. The precocious auto accessories mogul and ghetto-fabulous branding guru wants to be the Mark Zuckerberg of Asian streetwear couture. With the Jan. 3 launch of his Private Stock clothing line, Koon, 27, is hoping Americans will go as gaga for his Hong Kong-inspired jeans as they once did for Italy's Diesel brand. Maurizio Marchiori, Diesel's former U.S. marketing chief, is already a believer. "Jon has great potential," says Marchiori, who mentored Koon through the design process. "This guy's not a designer, he's a visionary."