Rhone Apparel (referred to simply as Rhone) is an American company producing and selling men's

sportswear (activewear) Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

History

Rhone was founded in 2014 in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

by Carras Holmstead, Casey Edgar, Kyle McClure and brothers Nate and Ben Checketts. The company's name derives from the river and region in Europe of the same name, as the founders were inspired by the reputation of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

as historically essential to surrounding civilizations as well as the river being aesthetically beautiful. While the company originally launched as a web-only retailer, Rhone partnered with

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

in November 2014 to sell at five locations. In 2015, the company was stocked in 127 locations total with retailers such as

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

, and

CorePower Yoga CorePower Yoga, based in Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. I ...

. It earned 62% of its total 2014 annual revenue in November 2015 and saw its website traffic rise by 350%. In September 2015, the company announced the closing of a $5 million

Series A financing A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

. Investors included individuals from sports, media, and fashion circles. Since its launch, Rhone has raised a total of $6.2 million. In February 2016, Rhone purchased a building in Stamford to use as its new headquarters.

Profile and products

Rhone is a performance-driven clothing for high-income men ages 25-50 with an active lifestyle. Each piece is designed for versatility. Rhone uses sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, recycled polyester, marino wool, and modal. Its buyers include a unit that defuses bombs in Afghanistan and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

winners. The company's product line aims to separate the brand from competitors like

Lululemon lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and ot ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, and

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...

. The company claims it uses superior materials in order to create clothes that last longer than the average product. Some of Rhone's fabrics cost $15 per yard. When the company founders began researching

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...

fabrics, they found that weaving silver into cloth created permanent antibacterial and anti-odorant protection. Silver thread is woven into the company's fabrics. Inspirational messages are sometimes stitched on, such as "Don't Die Without a Few Scars" or "What We Do in Life Echoes in Eternity." Flatlock stitching, where the seams lie flat with edges of fabric butting together rather than folding together, is used to avoid

chafing Chafing can refer to: * Chafing (nautical), damage to sails or other parts of a boat from rubbing * Chafing (skin), skin irritation from rubbing or sweat See also * Chafing dish * Chafing fuel Chafing fuel is a fuel used for heating food, typ ...

. The Polartec Power Dry patented construction creates a fabric that is quick wicking to improve breathability and performance. Style names come from masculine icons like Durden after "Fight Club" character Tyler Durden or Mako after the shark from ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Official, https://www.rhone.com/ American companies established in 2014 Sportswear brands Companies based in Stamford, Connecticut Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States