VC firms are focusing on needles and thread as well as circuits and silicon. These startup fashion brands have raised over $1.5B in aggregate.
From men’s shorts to patterned socks to children’s shoes, a new wave of startup fashion and apparel companies are coming to your closet.
Some of these startups like Frank & Oak are hoping to create new lifestyle brands by leveraging technology and data to manage supply chains and inventory, or even inform product line decisions. These aren’t necessarily online-only outfits: several brands sell their products on the web and in brick-and-mortar locations.
While some of these new fashion brands are focused on the basics such as Mack Weldon (men’s socks, underwear and undershirts) and Primary Kids (baby, toddler, and kid’s clothing), others are aiming at accessible men’s shirts and suits (Frank & Oak, Indochino) or footwear (Jack Erwin, M. Gemi and Allbirds). Another group, including Chloe + Isabel, focuses on accessories. Cuyana specializes in women’s handbags.
Other brands are focused on letting you design your own styles: startups like Teespring and Shoes of Prey let users design their own colors and patterns for T-shirts and shoes, while Feetz and MTailor take user measurements by smartphone photos and create custom-fit products. Other startups like Modcloth offer a centralized online storefront for vintage clothing designs.
VCs are paying attention. Together, these venture-backed fashion startups have raised over $1.5B in funding across more than 130 deals. A handful of the brands including Warby Parker, Bonobos, and Stance have raised over $100M in total funding. As the graphic highlights, investor-backed startup fashion brands are attacking all parts of the wardrobe.
| Company | Total Disclosed Funding ($M) | Select Investors |
|---|---|---|
| JustFab | $300 | Matrix Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, Rho Ventures |
| Warby Parker | $216 | Thrive Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Tiger Global Management, Lerer Hippeau Ventures |
| Stance | $155 | Mercato Partners, Shasta Ventures, August Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers |
| Bonobos | $128 | Peterson Ventures, Accel Partners, Nordstrom, Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| Yepme | $88 | Helion Venture Partners, Capricorn Investment Group |
| ModCloth | $75 | First Round Capital, Floodgate, Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners |
| Nasty Gal | $65 | Index Ventures, Ron Johnson |
| Teespring | $55 | Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures |
| Indochino | $50 | Madrona Venture Group, Highland Capital Partners, Dayang Group |
| CustomInk | $40 | Mediphase Venture Partners |
| Maiyet | $39 | DBL Investors |
| M. Gemi | $31 | General Catalyst Partners, Accel Partners |
| Chloe + Isabel | $27 | Felicis Ventures, Floodgate, First Round Capital, Forerunner Ventures |
| Zovi | $26 | SAIF Partners |
| Shoes of Prey | $24 | Blackbird Ventures, Southern Cross Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Nordstrom, Greycroft Partners |
| Eloquii | $23 | Female Founders Fund, Greycroft Partners, Blue Sky Capital |
| Lolly Wolly Doodle | $22 | First Mark Capital, High Line Venture Partners |
| The Cambridge Satchel Company | $21 | Index Ventures |
| Frank & Oak | $20 | Lightbank, Real Ventues, Rho Canada |
| ThirdLove | $14 | NEA, Felicis Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz |
| Reformation | $12 | Stripes Group, Karlie Kloss |
| Adore Me | $12 | Redhills Ventures, Upfront Ventures |
| Mack Weldon | $12 | RiverPark Ventures |
| Primary Kids | $11 | Homebrew, Harrison Metal |
| Plae | $11 | Floodgate, Finn Capital Partners |
| Cotopaxi | $10 | Forerunner Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, NEA |
| Draper James | $10 | Forerunner Ventures |
| Cuyana | $9 | Canaan Partners, Greycroft Partners |
| Sole Society | $8 | Insight Venture Partners, Nordstrom |
| Trumaker | $8 | RRE Ventures, Venrock |
| MeUndies | $7 | Revolution, Winklevoss Capital |
| Ministry of Supply | $7 | SK Ventures, VTF Capital |
| Grana | $6 | Bluebell Group, Golden Gate Ventures |
| Dolls Kill | $6 | Correlation Ventures, Maveron |
| Chubbies | $5 | Rothenburg Ventures, Vera Bradley |
| Wildfang | $4 | VTF Capital, Base Ventures |
| Unmade | $3 | Backed VC, C4 Ventures |
| Wool and the Gang | $3 | Index Ventures, Forward Investment Partners |
| Tommy John | $2 | New York Angels, First Mark Capital |
| Mtailor | $2 | Khosla Ventures |
| Bow & Drape | $2 | Great Oaks Venture Capital |
| Monica & Andy | $2 | Otter Rock Capital |
| Dagne Dover | $1 | 2020 Ventures |
| Feetz | $1 | Khosla Ventures |
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