Rhone is getting into the made-to-measure business.
The performance lifestyle brand on Tuesday is launching Custom Made by Rhone, an in-store 3D technology that uses digital body scans to create men’s shirts.
Nate Checketts, chief executive officer and cofounder of Rhone, said the idea came about as a result of the company’s success with athleisure product, notably its Commuter collection, which is made from four-way stretch fabrics in silhouettes that are appropriate for the office or the golf course.
“When we started, we never thought we’d make work leisure product,” Checketts said. “But it’s the future of menswear.”
Rhone started as a men’s activewear brand in 2014 and has since expanded into a full assortment of lifestyle product as well as womenswear, which launched earlier this month. The Commuter collection alone offers shirts, pants and sport coats in different fits and fabrics.
“Our customer expects the best and they’re choosing between us and benchmade tailored clothing, which is quite the compliment,” Checketts said. “If we can make this work, we can reinvent the dress shirt like we did with the Commuter product.”
Custom Made by Rhone takes dozens of measurements to create an exact digital pattern for each individual. Then the customer can customize the collar, cuff, pocket and placket and can also include one of Rhone’s four signature quotes for the interior bottom hem and/or add a monogram.
Custom Made by Rhone shirts will be shipped to customers in two weeks.
Courtesy of Rhone
“We making a sample size of one,” Checketts said of the process. “Even the most experienced tailor only takes five to 10 measurements, but 3D imaging measures everything.”
The digital pattern is then sent to a manufacturer — Checketts declined to name the company but said it was the largest made-to-measure shirt factory in the world — and create from Rhone’s Commuter collection fabric. Once completed, the finished product is shipped directly to the customer in around two weeks. “It’s a seamless experience. The shirts don’t have to be dry cleaned and they don’t break the bank,” he added.
The regular commuter shirts retail for $138 and the Custom Made by Rhone shirts are $198 and they are offered in a range of solids, prints and patterns.
Initially, the technology will only be available in most Rhone stores — the company has 15 units around the country, but two are too small to accommodate the service, which is set up in a dressing room at the stores.
Going ahead, Checketts said he hopes to expand the technology into other products and eventually offer it online as well by using smartphone cameras. “That’s the goal,” he said.
The privately held Rhone has around $100 million in sales. Last year, it closed a series D round of financing through a special purpose fund, with management and a select group of investors, including former NFL players Tim Tebow and Steve Young, buying back a stake L Catterton had purchased in 2017. Other investors include Blackstone executive David Blitzer, former hedge fund manager Gabe Plotkin, Larry Miller Group and members of the Checketts family.
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