A Thorn & Co. look. All images courtesy of Thorn & Co.
Thorn & Co. Makes A Debut
A few years ago, Irvine, Calif.-based Combatant Gentlemen got a lot of media attention when it was at the front of a new market space.
Combatant Gentlemen was a vertical retailer; it milled fabric and manufactured fashions that it later sold. The brand's point of difference was offering stylish, but not too pricey men’s suiting, which was exclusively sold at the digital channel combatgent.com
Combatant Gentlemen recently unveiled a new angle to this game. On June 24, it introduced Thorn & Co. This new line will be devoted to men big and tall, men who are NBA sized, and men who are a bit larger than the range of suits sold at department stores.
Scott Wicken is Thorn & Co.’s creative director. He has also served as Combatant Gentlemen’s content director. As someone who spent a lifetime shopping the big & tall racks, he said that choices have historically been limited. His new brand also wanted to try something that he contends others have ignored. “Thorn & Co. designed new silhouettes. We design for where they are bigger. We design for where they need more room,” he said of big and tall men.
By striving to be better tailors, Wicken contends that Thorn & Co. suiting will look dapper and fitted on the big and tall man. Part of the line’s suiting offers extra stretch in jacket’s shoulders. Wicken contends that other brands just add more fabric to make a big and tall suit. Those suits do nothing more than make ill-fitting clothes, he said.
Thorn & Co.’s retail prices points range from $55 to $280. Sizes range from 18 to 4XL. The brand’s suits and shirting use fabrics such as moisture-wicking and wrinkle-resistant cotton and light Nanostretch wool.
