Midnight Rodeo
Midnight Rodeo is a New York City-based lifestyle clothing brand, blending vintage Americana, modern nightlife, and a can-do city spirit. After the release of their first collection, titled “You’re Not Dreaming,” the brand sought to build broader legitimacy, and establish clear positioning within the contemporary men’s ready-to-wear market. While there was a unique brand identity and growing audience already in place, product offering execution lagged behind. The brand needed my help to expand, and harmonize deliverables to be retail-ready.
Problem
It was apparent the brand could no longer continue just offering screen printed t-shirts, repurposed accessories, and customized hat blanks. Midnight Rodeo faced a perception gap. It is incredibly difficult for brands operating under product constraints to compete within the contemporary men’s RTW space, as consumer perception of these product types undermines broader legitimacy. Product limitations, and the associated perception, further complicates a brand’s pricing and distribution strategies. In early 2022, I was brought on as the Lead Designer, in charge of establishing and leading the new cut-and-sew line, which debuted on the New York Fashion Week Runway in February of 2023.
Solution
I spearheaded the development of Midnight Rodeo’s new cut-and-sew collection. From ideation to production, I oversaw a 14 style, 66 SKU collection, directed garment selections, color stories, developed prints, and directed a small team of independent graphic designers to ensure creative consistency across Midnight Rodeo’s full product system. I also created all technical documentation to minimize production errors, enabling consistency across scale.
Seeking broader market appeal, I leveraged foundational brand codes, and influences to develop an expanded, yet cohesive product system that signaled brand maturation, growth, and continued brand world development. Midnight Rodeo’s positioning was clear now clear as a contemporary men’s ready-to-wear brand, poised for breakthrough into higher-tier retail environments.
Result
With its first cut-and-sew collection, the Midnight Rodeo scaled its total wholesale revenue to $100,000 in its second season. Total stockists more than tripled; the brand’s total number of wholesale accounts went from 4 to over 14, securing wholesale accounts with major American retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, and online retail giant FWRD.com.
Enthusiasm of Midnight Rodeo’s expanded product system signaled strong retailer confidence, validating its contemporary menswear brand position, and granting the legitimacy and esteem the brand deserved.
