Sharpe Suiting

Sharpe Suiting is an American designer, producer and manufacturer of garments based in Los Angeles, California.[1] The company was founded in 2013, in Los Angeles, by Leon Elias Wu, who is the current CEO of the company.[2] Sharpe suiting is a public-benefit corporation recognized for gender neutral clothing and genderqueer fashion.[3]

Sharpe Suiting
TypePrivate
IndustryManufacturing, Fashion
GenreGenderqueer fashion
FateActive
Founded2013 (2013) in Los Angeles, California
FounderLeon Elias Wu
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
,
United States
Number of locations
5 (2020)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Leon Wu (Founder and CEO)
Antonio Soto (Creative Director)
Marcia Alvarado (Director of Marketing)
ProductsTailored suits, Formal wear
Number of employees
10-50 (2020)
Websitesharpesuiting.com

History

2009-2014

In 2009, while traveling abroad to China during business school, Leon Wu, a transgender man from Los Angeles, conceptualized a company that focused on formal wear designs for butch lesbians and trans men.[4] He founded Sharpe Suiting in 2013. Initially, Sharpe Suiting was incorporated as a custom tailor for bespoke and made-to-measure suits which were designed for feminine bodies. In his 2015 interview with HuffPost, Wu said that he felt that "[bridging] the gap between male and female clothing is going to have a large social impact in that it defines the acceptance of queer identities, as well as advancing gender equality in the larger straight community".[5]

Wu launched a Kickstarter campaign for a ready-to-wear line of genderqueer clothing in October 2014.[6] The clothing line was based on a trademarked system called Andropometrics. The Andropometrics is a term coined by Wu. The concept of Andropometrics is based on the body measurements and metrics taken from over 250 of his clients, both male and female. The resulting measurements were used to create suits which fit people of all sizes and genders. The Kickstarter campaign raised over $69,387 in funding by the start of 2015.[7]

2015-2019

In 2015, Sharpe Suiting designed a custom suit for Claudetteia Love, then-seventeen, after she successfully contested her school's policy against allowing women to wear suits to prom.[8] Sharpe Suiting partnered with fashion designer Nik Kacy to launch "Love Fellowship", which offered free bespoke prom attire and footwear to help students express their gender identities at prom.[9]

From 2015 to 2017, Sharpe Suiting experienced significant growth in its revenue. Between 2018 and 2019, the company increased their revenue by 240%. By the end of 2019, the Sharpe Suiting experienced 175% of growth in company's revenue.[10]

The company's customer base includes members of the LGBT community as well as allies. As of June 2020, Sharpe Suiting had locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Tampa, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Houston.[11] The company has been modeled at queer fashion shows such as Queer Fashion Week in Oakland, California and Dapper Q's 1st, 3rd and 6th Annual runway at the Brooklyn Museum during the 2014, 2016 and 2019 New York Fashion Weeks.[12][13] Sharpe Suiting has been a part of Los Angeles Fashion Week catwalks since 2014.[14][15]

Operations

Leon Wu is the current CEO of Sharpe Suiting and Maria Alvarado is the company's Director of Marketing. Antonio Soto is the Lead Designer and Creative Director at the company. Sharpe Suiting is a public-benefit corporation with specific focus on the benefits to support LGBTQ community, women and people of color through charitable channels.[16] The corporate culture at the company has been featured in media worldwide including Huffington Post, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc.[17] The designs by Sharpe Suiting have made appearances at public events including The Oscars, Emmys and Cannes Film Festivals.[18] In late 2016, the company moved from Los Angeles Fashion District to their current location in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard.[4]

References
  1. Prisco, Joanna (2015-04-27). "Maternity Wear, Lingerie and Suiting Emerge for LGBTQ, Trans Community". abcnews.com. ABC News. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  2. Marie, Daja (2015-12-28). "Sharpe Suiting #OfficialHype2.0". thehypemagazine.com. The Hype Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  3. Nichols, James (2014-11-17). "Sharpe Suiting To Design Clothing For Butch, Androgynous And Masculine-Of-Center Individuals". huffingtonpost.com. HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  4. Stories, Local (2018-01-02). "Meet Leon Wu of Sharpe Suiting in Hollywood". voyagela.com. Voyage LA. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  5. Nichols, James Michael (2015-04-12). "FABRICATIONS: Meet Queer Fashion Designer Leon Wu Of Sharpe Suiting". huffingtonpost.com. HuffPost US. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  6. McDonald, James (2014-10-29). "Fund This: Ready-to-Wear Suits For Butch Women". out.com. Out Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  7. Fernandez, Chantal (2015-01-16). "How One Custom Suit Brand Is Elevating Queer Fashion". fashionista.com. Fashionista. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  8. Croft, Margaret (2015-04-25). "Designer makes prom special for Love". tennessean.com. The Tennessean. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  9. Baume, Matt (2015-04-15). "Louisiana Lesbian Told to Wear a Dress Now Gets a Custom Tux for Prom". pride.com. Pride Publishing. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  10. Sprayregen, Molly (2019-08-31). "The Team At Sharpe Suiting Believes People Of All Genders Have The Right To A Great Suit". forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  11. Meier, Kayla (2019-11-26). "Gender Neutral Suiting Comes to Texas, Queer-owned Sharpe Suiting wants to ungender fashion". austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  12. "New York Fashion Week 2020: Queer style kicks off NYFW with inclusive show". hindustantimes.com. Hindustan Times. Associated Press. 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  13. Werder, Corinne (2016-09-09). "DapperQ is Queering NYFW". gomag.com. Go Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  14. Jackson, Leigh-Ann (2018-10-19). "At Equality Fashion Week, six LGBTQ+ designers put style in all its many forms on display". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  15. Hornik, Susan (2019-10-16). "Unity: Equality Fashion Week celebrates inclusive brands and LGBTQ designers". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  16. Stories, Local (2018-11-27). "Meet Ellen Ford and Tony Soto of Sharpe Suiting". voyagela.com. Voyage LA. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  17. Binkley, Christina (2015-11-18). "Fashion Blurs Gender Lines". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  18. John, Grace (2018-04-29). "Sharpe Suiting Is a Step Forward for the LGBTQ+ Community". studybreaks.com. Study Breaks. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
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