Clothing is a necessity, but fashion is a vehicle for social change.
By: Kemdi Anosike
Tags: Social Change, Clothing, Menswear, Fashion, Kickstarter

I never thought I will launch an identity-based company and here I am launching one.

I did not think I was going to end up launching an apparel company. In fact, for the longest time, I saw clothing as only a necessity, rather an identity — something for which one can attach to or be excluded from.

And because I did not think I was going to end up launching an apparel company, I didn’t pay mind to the quiet fact that big and tall men like myself were being short-changed. We are a misunderstood and underserved consumer segment. The lead assumption of most brands is that men with extended sizing just need their body covered and we all have the same body shape.

Now, let me confess that I sometimes struggle with the labelling of “big and tall”. In fact, by my decision to launch an apparel company, I am trying to change that into something else; I am trying to provoke a new approach to labelling, if we must. I think that is where the problem lies. What can substitute the term “big and tall?

Most brands, in their well-meaning attempt to be inclusive of sizing, end up focusing on one body type: BIG AND TALL. That eliminates a good number of consumers; that infuriates our social understanding of identity, that creates a world of limitation when it comes to body acceptance. What about guys who are just tall but not big? What about the big guys who are not stereotypically tall? Maybe it would do more social good to take out the labels and just focus on being size inclusive overall?

I don’t know the answer to how we can progressively address inclusivity in fashion. But the answer I have is to my first question of the label “big and tall”. It is time for consumer fashion brands to see men with extended sizing. Yes! I can work with this for now until I find something better. That is the word that I am encouraging men like myself to embrace with my clothing apparel, BRIC.

As a 30-year-old, 6’6, 258 pounds male living in Manhattan, I have never shopped in a big and tall store before. I can’t relate to them. I find most of their clothing to be shapeless and without style. I often wonder the amount of detailing that goes into manufacturing these clothing. Or the lack thereof.

But then again, what choices do I have? Clothing is a necessity at the end of the day. And so, I give in; accept the fate that isn’t just mine but also exists as a disproportionate belonging. I rollup my sleeves most of the time — not by choice, but because these brands forget that there are men out there with long arms like me. Don’t get me started on the pants. Or trying to buy a suit last minute? Forget about it!

I think most tall men eventually start to experience shopping as a chore — a task of necessity but with no social, personal dividend. There is a lot of settling; the feeling of surrendering to another’s will, the utter powerlessness of not being offered a chance to choose.

At least that is how I view it. I don’t have an experience of finding shopping pleasurable. From being disappointed that your size isn’t online to the sales rep not acknowledging you because the store does not carry your size. Shopping was no longer a thing of leisure for me.

So, I am launching BRIC, a Made in America apparel company that will elevate the shopping experience for men with extended sizing, starting with elevated Essentials like sweaters — because who doesn’t love a good sweater? As we go into the fall weather, I want nothing more than for men like me to be covered in beautiful and thoughtfully created pieces. I am building a brand that sees and understands men. Especially those of us who have been forgotten. It is our time of revival.

While men are socially conditioned to not be too vocal about their fashion needs, I am very excited about this next generation of men who are very vocal about what they love and stand for. I especially love what women have done with the plus size industry. SO beautiful! Not only are they creating stylish clothing for women, but they have also created a body positivity movement for ALL women. This is huge!

With your help on Kickstarter , we will succeed in building an aspirational brand. I am so thankful for your support on this journey, especially because it is important that we remind ourselves — through our daily, domestic habits, through the things we wear and the images that surround us — that we need a more socially conscious society.

I never thought I will launch an identity-based company and here I am launching one for men with extended sizing by creating a shopping experience that is premium, stylish, and aspirational. Clothing is a necessity, but fashion is a vehicle for social change. And if you –just like me — we believe that not one size fits all, and that option should not be a luxury, and that settling is not a choice, and that fit matters, I would love your support for Kickstarter campaign to make this vision a reality.