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BY MOLLY BRUSH
As the owner of Andrew Davis Clothiers, Andy Mallor has brought some of the fashion world’s leading menswear brands to Bloomington since he opened his store in 2007. Now, he’s had a hand in designing a line of high-end clothing himself.
About three years ago, Mallor approached the members of the Luxe Group, a consortium of independent menswear retailers to which the store belongs, with the idea of collaborating to design a new line of menswear. The result is Mercer Blue, which made its debut in Luxe Group stores about a year ago, including Andrew Davis at 101 W. Kirkwood.
The brand’s name combines the Middle English word for cloth merchant, mercer, with blue, “everybody’s favorite color,” Mallor says.
The Mercer Blue line includes shirts, pants, and blazers, as well as knit tops for spring and sweaters for fall. All of the pieces are designed to coordinate with each other. “You can pick anything you want and it’s going to go with everything else that’s there,” Mallor says.
The Luxe Group paid particular attention to fit when designing the line. “We picked a fit that we think translates almost to everybody,” Mallor says. “Customers have been very, very happy with the fit.”
But what really sets Mercer Blue apart from its competitors, says Mallor, is its combination of exclusivity and value. The pieces are made from exclusive fabrics and are manufactured in the same factories that produce the finest Italian menswear, he says, but Mercer Blue is about half the cost of those brands.
“It’s something new and fresh, and because the fabrics are exclusive, you’re not going to find them anyplace else,” Mallor says.
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