In my younger and more vulnerable years my father had given me advice on denim. At that time, denim was going through a radical change from work cloth to something to wear at night - out on the town. Subcultural dress and music were hand-in-hand. The new wave of music that accompanied the Renaissance of the 1980’s established distinctive styles among its followers. The youth at that time favored an exaggerated style of dress. The rebellion continued to be a matter of concern for conventional society, reflected in such films as Flash Dance and Desperately Seeking Susan in the 1980’s. The succession of subcultural groups all invariably associated with a particular genre of music, and identifying themselves through a particular style of dress, represented the rejection of the older generation’s social and cultural norms by a booming and increasingly and increasingly affluent youth population. I remember that my father did not approve of wearing denim to church on Sunday. I followed his advice throughout my childhood. Cultural overlap is a good thing but it can lead to the occasional aesthetic friction. Over the years my father and I had clashed verbal swords with enough ferocity where we set our style boundaries apart while keeping the rest in neutral territory.
Looking back, I’m interested in my father’s ensemble. He dressed properly for work and leisure. My father inhabited his clothes effortlessly and deliberately as he inhabited his life, which is to say, in correct fit, balance and proportion. Only later I appreciated this contrast between heritage and modern apparel.
The cloth we know today as denim was originally a sturdy serge fabric made in the French town of Nîmes - (hence the word ‘denim” - serge de Nîmes). And, as I have written about several times in the past, the first fabric that was known as ‘jean’ was an indigo-dyed cotton cloth from the Italian city of Genoa. Nevertheless, by the eighteenth century much of this cloth was produced in Lancashire, in the north of England.Until the American’s made it famous for various reasons.
As history would prove, the garments and trousers made from denim, initially as workwear and the like were to become a pivotal part of every youth movement from the second half of the 21st century until present.
As we now enter into the third decade of the 21st century, denim is firmly on the fashion map and included in many designer collections. It remains a fashion staple in numerous incarnations to adhere to the needs of a volatile marketplace.
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In short, historical denim is considered and then re-created until it has radically evolved towards an intuitive and reactive solution, creating a transformation of the aesthetics of the time. Just recently, I reviewed a denim brand that seemingly has its finger on the pulse in addressing modern identity, body and gender too fit today’s standards. My team wore and reviewed the jeans and concluded that Mugsy serves as an abundant source of innovation, unaffected by commerciality, that exists as a purely aesthetic representation of denim as an aspiration. Mugsy is a forward and fresh modern inspiration while moving out of the restrictions of tradition.
It all started when (after years of rocking straight-leg jeans), a coworker finally came clean and informed Leo Tropeano that baggy jeans looked awful. He knew it was time to up his game, but all the slimmer jeans he tried were too tight and extremely uncomfortable! The goal was simple: supreme comfort, clean & stylish fit, and room for the boys. After years of working with industry experts and testing thousands of fabrics, he perfected the Mugsy line.
Comfort is the influence at Mugsy Jeans; it’s the denim line that caters to the modern man who wants to feel relaxed without sacrificing style. The reinforced, custom-blend fabric makes every pair of Mugsy's warp, shrink, and wrinkle resistant, whileremaining stylish, slim fit, highly flexible, and as comfortable as sweatpants. The brand has become known for offering the most comfortable men’s denim around and is now also offering the most comfortable men’s blazers and tees. In addition to the brand’s style expansion it has also upgraded its customer experience with improved chino fabric, and a winter-specific denim thermo-technology.
The ‘Darkest Blues’ are an almost black, indigo wash, and the ‘Mags’ give customers a distressed charcoal gray option. In addition to three new chino colorways – a super stylish maroon, a versatile neutral gray, and a limited-run festive holiday print – Mugsy’s chino options will also receive a boost in softness and comfort thanks to the V4 material upgrade for all styles. Given the brand’s experience in brutal winter temps, the Chicago-based brand will now offer Thermo Stretch denim technology in two wash options, retailing at $118. *Customers can skip the bulky clothes this winter, and instead stay warm in a slim fit medium indigo or dark indigo wash.
This season, the brand will also be releasing the ‘EveryBlazer’ in stretchy, soft, wrinkle-resistant, and machine washable fabric- for ultimate comfort and easy maintenance. Lastly, a ridiculously soft, cashmere ‘Mugsy Tee’ will be hitting part of the winter lineup.
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Leo Tropeano, Founder of Mugsy Jeans about Mugsy denim’s competitive advantage, on the thermo-tech approach to the collection and why you developed the collection with this technologyin mind Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now?
Joseph DeAcetis:Talk to Forbes about the history, launch date andDNAof the Mugsy brand ?
Leo Tropeano: After college, I moved to New York to start work at one of the biggest accounting firms in the world. Being in NYC, I knew I had to upgrade my style, so I began the search for better jeans. I was immediately shocked at how uncomfortable the slimmer fits were. After asking my buddies for jeans suggestions, it was clear that I wasn’t the only guy tired of having to sacrifice comfort or style when it came to my jeans, so I decided to fix the problem myself. Being that I had no training or experience in the apparel world, I began learning everything I could about the industry and meeting everyone I could in fashion. A few years later I launched a Kickstarter to test the concept; I knew I was on to something when we doubled our funding goal. Though the Kickstarter was a success, it was clear the product still needed work. I went back to the drawing board and started all over from scratch. I moved to Chicago and launched Mugsy Jeans online in November 2016, and it’s been a crazy ride ever since!
Joseph DeAcetis:In your words, what is your competitive advantage in the denim market?
Leo Tropeano: I started the brand as a consumer experiencing a problem himself. That mindset of coming from the customer’s point of view is ingrained into everything we do here at Mugsy, and I believe it’s allowed us to come at things from a different angle and truly redesign our products for the everchanging needs of the modern man.
Joseph DeAcetis:Who is your demographic and why?
Leo Tropeano: I started the company to fix a problem that my friends and I were experiencing, so in the early days I really viewed our demographic as 24-35-year-old urbanite guys like us. It’s been fascinating to watch that demographic evolve as we grow. Just the other day I received an email from a 92-year-old customer who loves our jeans! We’re starting to see how versatile our product really is and how guys of almost all ages and sizes are taking to Mugsy.
Joseph DeAcetis:How do you intend tomarkettoMillennials and Gen Z with advertising dollars ?
Leo Tropeano: The key is to be where they are, both physically and digitally. For the physical presence, we’ve found the younger generations gravitate towards experiences. That’s why we made our first store seem like more of a lounge—with leather couches, a dart board, video game machine, and vinyl player—than a typical jeans store. For digital, we’ve found a lot of millennials listen to podcasts, and we’ve seen a lot of traction with our ads in that space.
Joseph DeAcetis:In your words, what are menseeking today in denim today?
Leo Tropeano: Guys are seeking clothes that meet their lifestyle. The men’s denim game has been largely stagnant for the past several decades, but the way we move and live in our jeans today is totally different. Jeans have become a staple part of a guy’s wardrobe, and redesigning jeans to reflect this modern lifestyle is an essential part of what we do.
Joseph DeAcetis:Can you elaborate on the thermo-tech approach to the collection and why you developed the collection with this technologyin mind
Leo Tropeano: The ThermostretchTMidea came from our customers who requested warmer denim for their daily commute to work—e.g. guys who ride bikes, motorcycles or the “L” (Chicago subway) year-round. As a rider myself, I was more than familiar with their woes. It was a difficult task because our customers weren’t just requesting extra warm jeans, they wanted jeans that were warm in the cold but cool in the heat (you don’t want your legs to be warm on the commute but then uncomfortably hot in the office all day)! it was important for us to make the ThermostretchT Mto: 1) Live up to the Mugsy ridiculous stretch and comfort we’re known for, and 2) Have heat-activated technology that only engages when you need it to. It was definitely the most challenging product we’ve developed to date, but the end result is well worth it—the ThermostretchTMjeans are game-changers for guys who take on the cold!
Joseph DeAcetis:Talk to Forbes in detail about thecurrent collection and why it isimportant forconsumers to understand how this is a fresh idea ?
Leo Tropeano: Our current collection features 12 washes covering all the classic looks and coming in our proprietary Mugsy denim, plus two washes in our ThermostretchTMfor the guys who want the Mugsy style and comfort in colder environments. We also launched a new chino line with four-way stretch and seriously mind-blowing comfort in five colors. Last, this fall marks our first dive into tops with the launch of a modal/cashmere longsleeve and our totally redesigned, four-way stretch EveryBlazerTM. All in all, our fall lineup is our biggest yet and has somethingMugsyfor everyone!
Joseph DeAcetis:If you could choose one athlete to wear your brand, whowould it be and why?
Leo Tropeano: A few athletes that I would love to rock Mugsy Jeans are Coby White, Ian Happ and Allen Robinson. Like Mugsy, these guys are rising Chicago stars who fully embody the cool, confidence, and comfort that Mugsy is all about.
Joseph DeAcetis:Talk to Forbesabout how technology aided youin thedevelopment of your brand both product make-up and e-commerce?Details please.
Leo Tropeano: I love the freedom that e commerce brings to the table. When you go the traditional retail route as a brand, you lose a lot of control of the brand experience and image. With ecommerce, you can tailor all of that exactly how you want in just a few clicks of a button. The core of our brand is about not sacrificing, so being able to totally design the whole Mugsy experience was super important to me.
Without the recent developments in new fabrics, weaving techniques, and even green efforts (like recycled fabrics and water-friendly production processes), we wouldn’t be able to achieve that ridiculous stretch and comfort Mugsy is known for in an eco-friendly way. It’s an exciting time for apparel!
Joseph DeAcetis:What are your day-to-dayresponsibilities?
Leo Tropeano: My day-to-day varies so much, it’s total chaos! I definitely have my hands in a little bit of every aspect of the company, but as Mugsy continues to grow, I’ve found I’m doing less and less of the day-to-day operations and more of the overall vision and future-planning of the brand. As the founder, I think that’s where I bring the most value.
Joseph DeAcetis:Where is theproduct made andwhy?
Leo Tropeano: When I set out to start the company, I wanted to make the jeans here in the USA because I wanted Mugsys to be the highest quality. As Americans, we tend to think that US-made is always the best, but I learned (the hard way) that’s not always the case, especially in apparel. When my relationship with our American factory came to a disastrous end, I began the search for a new manufacturing partner that simply made the best jeans. I saw swatches and samples from hundreds of factories from all over the world, and eventually landed on our amazing partner in Asia. We wouldn’t be able to put out such a high quality, tech-forward product without them!
Joseph DeAcetis:You havethefloor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now.
Leo Tropeano: I could go on and on about how much time, thought and expertise goes into each product we make, but that’s boring. At the end of the day, it comes down to this—Guys have always had to sacrifice when it comes to their clothes, whether in comfort, style, or experience. Mugsy is about eliminating that sacrifice across the board. When you put on a pair of Mugsys, you look good and you feel great. The confidence that comes with that is magical. Try them out and you’ll never look back. And if you’re skeptical, just check out the thousands of five star reviews we have from all the guys that were once in your shoes (or, rather, pants).
Joseph DeAcetis:What are you future projections and growth strategy for the next few years?
Leo Tropeano: I’ve always been a fan of setting aggressive goals for the company— “shoot for the stars and you’ll land on the moon.” In the past few years, we’ve seen 3-4X growth year over year. Our team fully believes Mugsy is the future of men’s jeans—and even men’s clothing in general—so we plan to continue that trend of high growth.
