Mo Vaughn and Frank Thomas talk MVP Collections -- stylish big and tall clothing.
Mo Vaughn and Frank Thomas talk MVP Collections -- stylish big and tall clothing.
If you want a few more fashion forward options for the big & tall man in your life, then check out the latest from MVP Collections and Frank Thomas!
You have to admit, the growth in plus size fashion has opened more than a few doors for the Big & Tall fashion options. These brands who sell and cater to the Big & tall consumer are waking up to the fact that plus size men want to feel and look just as fly as their partners- right? One of those brands leading the charge is MVP Collections! And with their latest venture with Frank Thomas, MVP Collections is out to make a statement.
No stranger to The Curvy Fashionista, MVP Collections has been on a roll since August of 2016! Created by Mo Vaughn, former three-time MLB All Star, 1995 MVP and Co-Founder Managing Partner, fashion industry veteran Diane Cutuli Bennett, MVP Collections is all about style and comfort for the Big & Tall Man! They give us something forward, contemporary, and fashion forward for the man up through a sizes 2XL-6XL, XLT-4XLT and sizing from 40 – 58.
“We have spent the last three years building MVP Collections, and have seen a huge demand for fashionable and trendy items within the big and tall market. We want to be the premier destination for stylish big and tall clothing and remind our customer that style has no size.” Mo Vaughn, MVP Collections Co-Founder
And today? They bring even more to the table with Big & Tall fashion! Frank Thomas, the two-time MVP and MLB Hall of Famer, joins the MVP Collections family as an official partner, launching his own collection with MVP Collections for the fall.
Leading big and tall men’s fashion brand MVP Collections announced a new player in the game. Baseball legend, and two-time MVP and MLB Hall of Famer, Frank Thomas, known as “The Big Hurt,” is an official partner in the business, alongside co-founders and managing partners, Mo Vaughn and Diane Cutuli Bennett.
Since the launch of MVP Collections in August 2016, the brand has found success within the men’s fashion industry, expanding its product offerings, sizing and styles. In tandem with the announcement, the brand will also launch a collection inspired by Thomas’ favorite styles.
The collection inspired by Thomas will include four capsules each one with a distinctive style and vision – “El Dorado” (which includes gold detailing and embroideries), “Seductive Nights” (jewel-colored python animal prints and velveteen vintage washed denim), “La Barocco” (inspired by Baroque prints and majestic themes), and “Neon Lights” (sports leisurewear in techno satin fabrics with neon stripes). With products made in the USA, the collections feature a full range of stylish athleisure, premium denim, tees, polos, jackets, and dress shirts, in an array of luxe fabrics, prints, textures, and colors. The collection offers sizing from 2XL to 6XL, XLT-4XLT, and sizing from 40-58, offered in 32”, 34” and 36” inseams.
“The journey from being friends to becoming business partners with Mo has been a tremendous experience, and I’m honored to be a partner and MVP,” sid Thomas. “Like Mo, I’m a big guy who’s always looking for stylish clothing options, so it’s been exciting to see my collections with MVP come to life. I love a great polo and jeans, but then I also love to wear trendy prints and bright colors, and these collections bring a little of everything from my personal style into them.”
“We are so excited to welcome Frank into the MVP family, as he truly is our guy and inspires us with his personal style,” added Vaughn. “We have spent the last three years building MVP Collections, and have seen a huge demand for fashionable and trendy items within the big and tall market. We want to be the premier destination for stylish big and tall clothing, and remind our customer that style has no size.”
Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas will also create four stylish capsule collections for fall.
Two years after launching, MVP Collections, a men’s big and tall brand founded by former Major League Baseball All-Star Mo Vaughn, has brought on a partner to expand the company’s visibility and reach.
Frank Thomas, “The Big Hurt,” a two-time MVP and MLB Hall of Famer, has joined the brand and will front four capsule collections that will launch for fall.
Thomas, an analyst for Fox Sports who is also on the broadcast team for NBC Sports Chicago, will become the brand’s third partner, along with Vaughn and Diane Cutuli-Bennett, a former Kellwood executive.
In an interview with WWD, Vaughn said he and Thomas have been friends since their college playing days and developed a mutual respect after being pitted against each other for decades. “He’s a professional and a great representative for our team,” Vaughn said. “Plus, he’s the customer.”
Thomas, who said he’s 6-feet 5-inches and nearly 300 pounds, said he saw the MVP Collections line in a DXL store in 2017 and was immediately drawn to it. “The clothes are hot and fashionable,” he said, adding, “no one takes care of the big guy. I’ve always loved fashion and this is right up my alley.”
Vaughn said he is “more bland” than Thomas so the new capsule collections will be more fashion-forward. They will be “inspired by Frank Thomas’ favorite styles,” and will be El Dorado, which includes gold details and embroidery; Seductive Nights, which will be jewel-colored python prints and velveteen vintage washed denim; La Barocco, which is based on Baroque prints, and Neon Lights, techno satin fabrics with neon stripes. Styles will include alth-leisure, premium denim, Ts, polos, jackets and dress shirts.
Beyond fit, companies are experimenting with becoming more trend-centric as well. MVP Collections by Mo Vaughn Productions launched in 2016 to specifically address this need. "This customer is starving for fashion. They don't want the basic jean. They want ones with the rips and tears or anything color," explains Diane Bennett, MVP Collection’s co-founder. Take one of their spring 2019 designs, a short-sleeve pink hoodie with roses embroidered on the hood: It completely sold out. Even more surprisingly, Bennett points out that their most active shoppers are in the 5XL and 6XL range. "Our two largest sizes were thirty percent of sales in the first quarter," she says. "This guy is not used to having options, but if you give them to him, he will respond." Typically, this shopper is only supposed to shop twice a year, but according to Bennett, she's now seeing customers come in 10 to 15 times: "He wants the trends that are happening now, the ones everyone else are wearing."
Despite MVP Collections' and Stitch Fix's obvious success in the plus market, many retailers are still hesitant to commit to widening up their size selection in brick and mortar. "It is very hard to go out and actually find extended sizing," says Sturgell of the continuing problem. "It's baby steps for big companies like that. They are more afraid to make big changes, because they are making hundreds of millions of dollars more with an audience that has been around for a long time. They don't want to alienate the older guy just to get the younger guy, so they yield to that."