In 2010, online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter launched its dedicated luxury men’s shopping website, Mr Porter, that quickly evolved into a full-fledged lifestyle destination. Seven years on, and a few teasers later — the brand has launched two menswear collections to mark the release of Kingsman films — Mr Porter is all set to debut its own men’s label, aptly called Mr P.
To launch globally on Mr Porter on November 7, the company says the focus will be on contemporary looks under the casual wear category. The first collection will have 53 items, including knitwear, Oxford shirts, denim and coats, inspired by London’s Soho in the 1960s.
An in-house team will create the year-round collection, with five limited-edition capsules to be launched every year.
Ahead of Mr P’s debut, Fiona Firth, the buying director at Mr Porter, spoke to Gulf News tabloid! to shine a little more light on her company’s vision for the label.
If Mr P were a person, who would he be?
The Mr P man is definitely a confident dresser. He is someone who feels comfortable mixing casual and smarter products together and is able to dress his looks up or down to take him from morning, throughout the day and then to the bar for a drink at night.
Mr Porter is an amalgamation of many brands, the platform for many designers and a variety of looks and designs. So what will be the aesthetic of Mr P?
In short, the aesthetic of Mr P is easy pieces, smart details and enduring style.
You’ve tested the waters with the Kingsman collections. Why is now a good time for the debut of Mr P?
We’re now nearing our seven year mark in business, and by now we have a fantastic amount of insight and knowledge on our customer and brand mix. We launched Kingsman because we wanted to fill a gap within our product mix. We have since launched some of the world’s biggest brands and we felt it was the right time to launch something of our own with a diverse range.
How did you arrive at the price points?
We always knew that this line of clothing was going to be a contemporary label, and the prices reflect that product and the category that we have on the site. We also wanted to make sure the label was achievable in price point for our customers.
Will retailing follow the same current set-up or will Mr P get a slightly different treatment?
Mr P is an addition to all the other brands that we’re proud to stock on Mr Porter, treatment will be no different.
What’s the team like behind Mr P?
We have a brilliant team who have worked on the project since inception — a dedicated garment technologist, design team and buying team all who work on Mr P along with all the other teams within our business who have contributed to the look of the collection.
What’s the vision for Mr P?
We will in time be broadening the categories, but for now, we want to make sure we are concentrating on our core collection and looking forward to the warmer seasons ahead where we will have a variation in product mix.
