A perfect fit
UD alumnus co-founds menswear company that designs apparel for tall men
9:46 a.m., Feb. 10, 2015--University of Delaware alumnus Kevin Flammia has co-founded the unique menswear brand R.F. Madison.
Flammia, now a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School, and his business partner, John Reynolds, had the idea for R.F. Madison because traditional clothing brands often do not make clothes that fit men of their heights properly. Reynolds is 6 feet, 10 inches tall and Flammia is 6 feet, 3 inches tall.
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Most clothing sizes define “tall” as between 6 feet and 6 feet, 3 inches tall, leaving men above those heights with a lack of fashionable options. Meanwhile, “big and tall” retailers often focus on customers of higher weights, catering to only one portion of the market.
“The more we thought about it, the more we realized that there actually is no option in the ready-to-wear stage,” Flammia said.
The team decided to research the viability of their concept, interviewing industry experts and journalists for publications like Men’s Health magazine. These discussions further validated the need for products to fit tall men.
Flammia and Reynolds, both longtime basketball players, also reached out to college athletes across the country to gauge their interest.
“This population tends to be athletic,” Flammia said. “Between basketball, volleyball and rowing, about 70 percent of those rosters at the Division I level are above 6 feet, 3 inches.”
Flammia called the response R.F. Madison received from athletes “overwhelmingly positive,” with most athletes expressing a desire for more comfortable and fashionable options.
Advanced sizing data
What also sets R.F. Madison apart from other apparel companies is their use of advanced anthropometric data in sizing.
Flammia said that traditional apparel manufacturers “try to create the perfect garment for their medium size.” To increase sizes, “they just scale up on a linear basis.”
“Our underlying thesis is that as you approach the tail ends of the population, the distribution is actually non-linear,” Flammia continued. “So that requires a different type of pattern creation.”
In order to collect data for this specialized sizing, Flammia and Reynolds worked with Edward Gribbin, a member of the UD Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies Advisory Board and president of Alvanon.
Alvanon utilizes the world’s largest database of body scan research, working with companies like Reebok to improve apparel fit and sizing accuracy.
“They are leading the trend of focusing on fit,” Flammia said. The R.F. Madison team plans to work with Alvanon to accrue even more body scan data on their target market moving forward.
Further, R.F. Madison was recently accepted into a 12-week accelerated incubator program at Harvard. They currently have a line of samples and are collecting qualitative feedback on style, fabric and pricing.
The R.F. Madison website contains a survey for potential customers, and the team hopes to begin presales of their first item, a causal blazer, there in the near future.
Blue Hen experiences
Flammia simultaneously earned an honors bachelor of science degree in mathematics and economics as well as a master of science in finance from UD in 2011.
During his time at UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Flammia said that he learned the value of being a well-rounded student, strengthening both academic and interpersonal skills, since there are many possible routes to entrepreneurial success.
“Just because you go about things in a different way doesn’t necessarily mean you’re wrong,” Flammia said. “It’s worth thinking outside of the box.”
He stressed the importance of “being able to communicate, understand social dynamics and pay attention to what’s going on around you.”
Flammia had the opportunity to experience a number of diverse social landscapes as a Blue Hen, serving as vice president of UD’s Interfraternal Council and spending two summer internships working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in New York.
Flammia calls this opportunity to work with employers “very different, but one of the best things that happened to me.”
Article by Sunny Rosen