Big news! Everybody’s favorite couple-cum-design duo Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell are engaged.
“We’ve been together for 10 years, so it’s about time,” joked Kasell at a preview in their Chelsea studio. The proposal, which took place around Christmas under the Washington Square arch, could’ve come from a scene in a forgotten Nora Ephron movie. Remembering the moment when he saw Richie walk toward him, collecting roses from friends and family along the way, Kasell admitted: “I was like ugly crying.”
Even as the pair embark on a new journey by solidifying their union, coincidentally, Tanner Fletcher is breaking apart. For fall, the brand is launching a new tier they’ve dubbed “Cabin Wear,” which a PR rep likened to Polo Ralph Lauren. Lauren broke his own rules in Milan last month at the menswear shows, presenting Polo and Purple Label together to prove all the various points where his two lines converge. It made for a strong statement about the way real people shop and dress today, which is why Tanner Fletcher is smart to embark on a similar path.
“We’re trying to hit every mark because our customers want the lifestyle,” explained Kasell. “We’re from the Midwest, so the idea of ‘Cabin Wear’ felt nostalgic to us growing up, like what our dads may have been wearing hunting or fishing.”
Butching it up a bit, flannels, denim and chore jackets that dad might like were layered with higher-end collection pieces. Mallards and ducks, leitmotifs throughout, appeared as teeny antique pins on a collection suit, for example, while one was woven elsewhere into a Cabin Wear sweater in a shade of pink similar to that of J. Crew’s viral Fair Isle crewneck.
Naysayers dubbed it “emasculating,” but Tanner Fletcher would never shy away from blurring gender lines. Kassel and Richie held firm on the bygone femininity that makes their brand feel special, coming through best in their limited assortment of evening looks (collection, obviously). One standout was a black velvet gown with whipped cream ruffles that outlined the body like Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres.
Similar to both J. Crew and Ralph Lauren, Tanner Fletcher taps into the comforts of Americana, and the Cabin Wear model will allow the designers to explore it in many facets. Hint, hint: athletic wear could be next. Let’s just hope they come up with a better name than “Gym Wear.”
