Mizzen+Main

Mizzen+Main
Founded 2012
Founder Kevin Lavelle
Headquarters Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
Key people
 Kevin Lavelle, CEO
Products Performance Menswear
Website mizzenandmain.com

Mizzen and Main (styled Mizzen+Main) is an American clothing company that specializes in performance menswear. It created and sells performance fabric dress shirts, blazers, jeans, and casual shirts online and in boutique retailers throughout the United States,[1] including at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's.[2] Launched in 2012 with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Mizzen+Main has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Men's Health, ESPN and MSNBC.[3][4]

History

Mizzen+Main was co-founded in 2012 by Kevin Lavelle who currently serves as the company CEO. Prior to founding the company, Lavelle graduated from the Southern Methodist University and traveled the world as a management consultant.[5] The idea for Mizzen+Main's signature product, a fabric performance dress shirt, originated in 2005 when Lavelle was in Washington D.C. as an intern.[1] He noticed sweat stains on the shirt of a congressional staffer, leading to the idea of producing a moisture-wicking dress shirt similar to the capabilities of athletic clothing such as Under Armour and Nike.[6] Lavelle experimented with numerous fabrics, trying thousands of variations prior to finding a combination that became the first prototype.[4] The company officially launched in July 2012.[7]

Mizzen+Main was initially self-funded but later received an investment from several angel investors including Melanie and Marcus Luttrell[3] who are supporters of the brand and products. Other individuals that have publicly expressed their support of Mizzen+Main include Brian Hartline, Timothy Ferriss, Thomas Morstead, Ian Desmond, and other athletes.[8] It began by selling its products online and adding boutiques that carried Mizzen+Main in their stores.[7] Its initial offering included two dress shirt designs. In 2013, the company was involved with Vanguards Gallery incubator group at its menswear trade show when it caught the eye of executives from Saks Fifth Avenue.[9] Mizzen+Main was invited to be one of two pop-up stores inside of Saks' New York store as part of Super Bowl XLVIII weekend.[10] It was featured along with Versace from January 30th through February 2nd, 2014. The event was attended by NFL safety and Super Bowl winner Malcolm Jenkins as well as Darren Rovell and Desmond Howard.[9]

Mizzen+Main expanded its product line in 2014 after launching a Kickstarter campaign. The company raised over $50,000, exceeding its $15,000 goal, to fund the design and manufacturing of a new men's performance blazer.[7]

In the summer of 2014, Mizzen+Main raised an additional round of capital from a variety of investors, including Astor & Black founder David Schottenstein, Vegas Tech Fund, Bobby Lyle, Hunter Hunt, and Chris Kleinert.[11][3]

Products

Mizzen+Main products are manufactured in the United States with a portion of each sale being donated to charities and job programs for veterans.[5] Its product line includes moisture-wicking and wrinkle free shirts as well as men's blazers and jeans.[3] It initially launched with two dress shirt designs before expanding to additional dress shirts and Henley shirt designs.[12]

Philanthropy

Mizzen+Main partners with One Team One Fight for the Wear RED initiative (Remember Everyone Deployed). The initiative raises awareness of deployed American servicemen and women.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 Ramsey, Raya (June 2014). "Mizzen+Main's 'Co Sweat' Success". D Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Stocklists". Mizzen+Main official website. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kolodny, Lora (28 August 2014). "Mizzen+Main Raises $1.2M for Clothes That Look Upscale, Feel Athletic". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 Teeman, Tim (18 December 2013). "A No-Sweat Work Shirt? No Sweat". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 Ward, Patricia. "SMU Alumni Name To '40 Under 40' Business Leaders List". Southern Methodist University. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Zak, David (20 September 2013). "So Long, Pit Stains: This 'Performance Dress Shirt' Eliminates Your Sweat Problem". Fast Company. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Cho, Hannah; Gales, Arsella (15 March 2014). "Dallas Becomes A Mini Hub of Fashion and E-commerce Startups". Dallas News. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Why Mizzen+Main". Mizzen+Main official website. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 Eaton, Dan (27 January 2014). "Mizzen & Main getting Super Bowl showcase". Columbus Business Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Heine, Christopher (26 January 2014). "Marketers Are Pushing Hard to Be Seen at This Year's Super Bowl". AdWeek. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Cho, Hanah (28 August 2014). "$1.2 million capital for new Design District digs, fulfillment center and showroom". Dallas News. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Eaton, Dan (10 December 2013). "Online dress shirt retailer Mizzen & Main experimenting with Short North showroom". Columbus Business Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Chinnis, Jennifer (10 September 2014). "Dallas' Mizzen+Main founder joins Stephen Colbert on serious list of game changers". Dallas Culture Map. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

External links

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