Bespoke Fashion continues to expand its reach.
The New York-based luxury men’s company founded by Danielle Mandelbaum Anderman has purchased the Nick Graham brand from Tharanco Group, WWD has learned. Terms were not disclosed.
Mandelbaum Anderman has a long history in the men’s industry. Her family owned the Superba neckwear company and she founded Bespoke in 2012 as a high-end neckwear manufacturer. Since then, the business has expanded into other products including dress shirts, socks, accessories, sportswear and tailored clothing for many of the country’s top brands and retailers.
Earlier this year, CP Brands Group and Icon Luxury Group, owners of the Thomas Pink brand, brought Bespoke on board as the brand’s master licensee to move the business beyond its core dress shirt and tie offering into a full lifestyle collection.
And now, Nick Graham is also part of the family.
Tharanco acquired the majority stake in NGX LLC, the company that owns the Nick Graham trademark, in 2017 from Iconix Brand Group. At the time, Tharanco, which owns or operates nearly 30 brands including Greg Norman, Dunning, Joseph A, Hi-Tec and Scarlett, had grand ambitions for growing the Nick Graham business. The designer had held fashion shows during New York Fashion Week, showcased his love for space travel with collections for NASA and with Bill Nye and also embraced augmented reality and blockchain authentication.
But since the pandemic, the brand appeared to lose some of its steam, and its focus no longer fit into the Tharanco model. As Michael Setola, president and chief executive officer of Tharanco Lifestyles LLC, said: “Bespoke is a natural fit for a multicategory brand like Nick Graham. The business became very tailored and dress furnishings-driven over the last two years. Our company is very sportswear-driven and Bespoke can give Nick Graham the design, technical and sourcing attention to allow it to grow. We are very happy the brand has found this new home.”
Mandelbaum Anderman said she views Nick Graham as “a junior Thomas Pink,” and pointed to its fun designs and positioning, making it a “great vehicle for young guys. I’ve always been drawn to English-y, quirky, younger brands, and I relate this to Carnaby Street and Savile Row. I think it’s truly a great brand and can bring cool looks to the market.”
The collection is carried at JCPenney and she said that business will be retained. “I like where it is and I would love to see it in Belk and Macy’s too,” she said, adding that plans also call for offering the collection online. Dress shirt and tie sets retail for $52 on the Penney’s website. “It’s a fashion value play,” she said. “You don’t have to pay $1 million to get style and I see this as something you keep, not wear and throw away.”
She said the deal was just finalized and she’s in discussions with Graham to be a part of the business going forward. He did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. “Nick was a part of the DNA of the brand and we have a nice relationship with him that we hope to take advantage of.” She said the first collection under Bespoke will be created by the end of next year.
The Canadian-born Graham is best known as the founder of Joe Boxer and has a reputation in the men’s industry as a jokester and marketing guru. He’s created glow-in-the-dark underwear, hosted the world’s fastest fashion show — 1.2 seconds on a human cannonball — and once shot underwear into space on a rocket.