Made-in-USA e-tail site launches see-now-buy-now designer collections

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 7, 2017

2017 is a special time to be an American menswear designer. The launch of New York Fashion Week: Men’s in 2015 allowed for American menswear designers to showcase their collections to a much larger audience. And now a number of NYFW: Men's designers this season have launched select fall 2017 pieces exclusively on The Ensign, a new e-commerce platform devoted to American menswear designers and Made in America fashion.

 
In an attempt to capture the see-now-buy-now market, brands Carlos Campos, Palmiers du Mal, Deveaux, Thaddeus O’Neil and Krammer & Stroudt have launched select pieces from their respective runway shows on the new website. In addition to the fall 2017 styles, the four brands launched spring 2017 pieces on the website alongside Ddugoff, Deveaux, Garciavelez, Rideau and Vestment.
 
“We wanted to tap into the excitement and interest these shows generate during Fashion Week in a way that encourages designers to distinguish their product and themselves,” said Jason Wagg, co-founder of The Ensign. “By supporting their collections in advance, we allow them to leverage all the exposure and buzz into consumer action. Working across multiple designers, we’re able to execute see-now-buy-now at a level that would otherwise be inaccessible to independent designers.”

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Industry veterans Wagg and Luis Morales launched The Ensign to establish a sustainable ecosystem supporting new emerging US designers, encouraging domestic manufacturing and providing a platform for fashion enthusiasts. The co-founders noticed a gap in the market for a luxury retail destination that exclusively offers Made in America fashion.
 
Morales said, “The Ensign’s mission is to offer consumers a highly curated, content-driven platform that brings the best Made in America fashion to the market. We’re excited to work with designers who represent the next wave in American design and industry. Each designer is advancing the concept of American fashion in their own way and their commitment to domestic manufacturing reinforces what makes them special.”
 
The duo decided to go the see-now-buy-now route to capture the excitement and consumer interest that surrounds fashion week.
 
“Traditional retail deliveries can take up to 6 months or more, by which time potential customers have lost interest,” added Wagg. “By partnering directly with designers, we're able to connect the press and creative intention from each collection to people who want to be a part of the designer's story."
 
The Ensign launched the see-now-buy-now pieces on theensign.us on February 6. The collections are available in limited quantities.