Direct to consumer has picked up in popularity as more companies work their way around the middlemen, and in the latest evidence of that, French luxury fabric mill Dormeuil has partnered with custom menswear company Knot Standard for a holiday pop-up shop in New York City.
The Knot Standard Holiday Shop will be Dormeuil’s first retail location in the U.S.–it has shops in Paris and Tokyo.
The shop features luxury custom products, including suiting, blazers and chinos made from exclusive Dormeuil fabrics available only to Knot Standard. The 1,000-square-foot store experience features Knot Standard’s proprietary technology that allows customers to digitally design and visualize hundreds of fabric options to create their own unique custom garments on a large in-store touchscreen or any iPad, prior to purchase.
“We create our fabrics by sourcing the finest raw materials in the world, combined with modern production methods,” said Dominic Dormeuil, president of Dormeuil. “With Dormeuil cloth, Knot Standard offers garments constructed with fabric at the very height of the quality spectrum.”
[Read more about custom clothing: Nearly Half of American Consumers Want Customized Apparel, New Study Says]
John Ballay, chief executive officer of Knot Standard, said, “In our mission to continuously reinvent the men’s wear experience, we are excited to deliver the Knot Standard brand through this unique partnership with Dormeuil from Paris, fabric masters since 1842.”
Founded in 2010 by Ballay and Matt Mueller, Knot Standard combines a hightech approach to old world tailoring, and uses trusted stylists, fit technology and classic tailoring to create a custom look.
Dormeuil has been creating and designing luxury fabrics for 175 years, and the history of The House of Dormeuil is interwoven with the constant search for the rare and luxurious. Dominic Dormeuil explores breeding farms around the world each year to select the most precious fibers to produce exceptional fabrics.
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The collaboration comes at a time when customized clothing and accessories has reached new heights at retail.
Lanieri.com, an Italian made-to-measure men’s e-tailer, and YouGov, a market research company, recently conducted a study on American consumers’ fashion purchase habits, including their views on customized apparel, and found that 49 percent of U.S. adults are interested in buying customized clothing—and are likely to spend, on average, $207 to buy it, with men willing to outspend women by nearly $60.
Millennials are also expected to drive the customized apparel movement, as they angle for products that deliver more of what they want.
The New York City shop opened on Dec. 1 and will run through Dec. 22, at 989 Madison Avenue, next door to the Carlyle Hotel.