Tanner Fletcher, the cult genderless brand launched by Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell, has a lot of room to grow, according to the founders.
At their New York Fashion Week presentation on Monday afternoon, the pair hosted attendees in their showroom in downtown Manhattan, showcasing a combination of funky tailoring, swimsuits and an eclectic collection of vintage decor. After being a finalist in the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund program in 2023, the brand has steadily grown thanks to its gender-neutral design sense and boosts from celebrity fans like Ariana Grande and Bad Bunny.
But the real shot in the arm was its bridal business. Released as a one-off in 2024, Tanner Fletcher’s unconventional take on wedding attire, often using playful design elements like oversized bows and colorful embellishments, immediately took off. Two years later, bridal now makes up half of the brand’s business. Kasell said it’s a struggle to keep enough of the bridal collection in stock to meet demand.
“It was the perfect niche market for us to find,” Kasell said. “With weddings, everything has looked the same for decades. There weren’t a lot of good options for people looking for something more interesting.”
Kasell said bridal is part of Tanner Fletcher’s efforts to evolve into a full lifestyle brand. Their NYFW presentation included glimpses at other categories, like swim, that the pair want to expand to in the future. Kasell also hinted at categories “other than fashion” that Tanner Fletcher plans to explore in the future. The designers already collect and source a variety of vintage fashion and decor pieces, which they sell alongside their own clothes. Richie said it’s common for customers to come looking for a wedding dress or a new suit and leave with a vintage candlestick.
Unlike some of their contemporaries, Kasell and Richie are keen to stay focused on direct-to-consumer sales.
“Wholesale has remained around 20% of our business, and we love our wholesale partners like Shopbop, Nordstrom, Revolve, some smaller boutiques,” Richie said. “But we’re really putting our eggs in the DTC basket. That’s what’s working best for us right now. We have more control of the experience and the price point [most bridal products sell for a few thousand dollars each]. And especially with the climate today, there’s a lot of risk involved in working with wholesale, so you have to really trust your partner.”
So far, Tanner Fletcher has managed growth without any outside investment, but both Richie and Kasell are open to the right investors.
“It’s a hard conversation because scalability is dependent on funding,” Kasell said. “We need the right partner. We have a lot of goals, but goals cost money. The business has great potential for profitability, so it’s just a matter of doing that while maintaining our vision for the brand. The vision is the most important part, and that needs to be protected beyond anything else.”
