The startup from Amsterdam that turned suit-buying upside now wants to do the same for women
- Suitsupply is taking its women's suiting brand global, opening up stores around the world.
- The brand was tested online in pilot programs and in select stores before the roll-out.
- Suitsupply is best known for its well-regarded men's suits, which have earned a following for their emphasis on fit and quality at a relatively affordable price.
Women's suiting has been on Suitsupply's mind for a while.
The Amsterdam-based company, which has gained a following for its well-tailored and relatively low-priced men's suits, has been experimenting with women's lines for a few years now, releasing pilot collections online.
But now, Suitsupply is ready to commit. It's going full steam ahead with its full women's line called Suistudio.
Women can now shop the full collection of Suistudio suits at Suitsupply's store in the Soho part of New York, where the women's line has its own floor. It will expand to stores in Frankfurt and Paris by the end of the year.
Suitsupply wasn't always planning on expanding into women's suiting, which is why it dipped its toes in before diving in headfirst.
"This tradition of suiting is typically ... dominated by men's brands," Suitsupply CEO Fokke de Jong told Business Insider. "And I always thought that is for a reason? Is there just no market or no interest?"
"The answer is ... there is big interest. I don't know how big the market is, but we see that there's a strong market and a strong demand for it," de Jong said.
De Jong says that Suitsupply has timed it right with Suistudio, as there's a certain appeal to women's suiting that is trending right now. Look no further than Cate Blanchett at the Cannes Film Festival this year for evidence of that.
"The curiosity around it was two fold: how practical and easy and comfortable suits are to wear, with how they can actually be quite fashionable and I can express myself in a fashionable way," said Kristina Barricelli, vice president of Suistudio at Suitsupply.
But there also seems to be a perennial interest in suits in general.
"We were surprised by the types of women that we've seen interested in our product," Barricelli said. "I think we had a specific demographic and learned that the interest is really broad."
Suistudio sells all manner of women's suiting, from trendy looks to more traditional options. In another break from the men's brand, it also sells the suits as separate pieces, as women are more likely to buy suit separates than men are.
As far as other differences between men and women?
"I'm coming to find that there's more similarities than differences," de Jong said.