UK menswear start-up The Drop gets seed funding

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 15, 2018

London-based start-up The Drop has raised £0.5 million in seed funding as it seeks to grow its fledgling business that offers custom-made menswear on demand.

And some of those investing certainly look interesting with Paddy Byng, who was SVP of Marketing at Ralph Lauren and previously CEO of Smythson and Linley joining in a funding round that was led by ad guru Sir John Hegarty’s The Garage Soho.

Two-year-old The Drop is typical of many start-ups in that it features a heavy tech element as well as the clothing industry experience that its managers also need. It was founded by former fashion industry exec Jonathan Kruger, as well as software developer Stephen Stroud, who has worked at a number of venture capital-funded start-ups.

Their aim was to get round the problem of the industry producing large numbers of garments in standard sizes that often don’t fit that well. 

The company already has strong reviews for its products that retail at around £300 for a two-piece suit and £400 for a three-piece.

Kruger said the new investment will allow them to go to the next stage “to make custom-made menswear available to all at an affordable price - we want to offer a better product, in a better fit than they could access on the UK high street.”

The company uses technology that it claims can deliver garments anywhere in the world in under three weeks and also says there’s a strong sustainability element as it avoids the huge amount of waste that traditional retail models result in.

Sir John Hegarty said: “The Garage team are excited to back Jonathan and Stephen and their talented team in building the future of menswear. This fundraise underlines the huge future growth potential of The Drop and the opportunity it represents to make better fitting clothing, more sustainably.”