Meet Connor Norton, the Founder of Luxe Big & Tall Brand, MANY – The Curvy Fashionista

Connor Norton founded MANY, a big and tall men’s clothing brand, when he couldn’t find an outfit for his friend’s wedding.

“I had four weeks to prepare, and no budget. Despite all that time and resources, I would order something online, and it would come in. One of them would kind of fit, but it would be a thin material, and it didn’t look nice on me. Then I went to this wedding, and it was the only thing I could think about all weekend,” Norton said.

Before he had the idea to go into the fashion industry, he worked in PR, the entertainment industry, and artist management. Even though he didn’t have any designing experience, that didn’t stop him. Norton found a designer with whom he then co-designed to create MANY.

MANY had a launch party at the beginning of February, where many big and tall men were invited, represented, and allowed to take up space. Athletes, content creators, and men in the media space were together to celebrate what MANY stands for and represents: evolving the category.

While big and tall men’s clothing brands exist, there are not a lot. Norton wanted to not only grow this category but also to allow luxury fashion to exist within it. With prices starting at $295, MANY provides good quality, staple pieces for the big and tall community.

“I feel like sometimes having personal style is about having a good, clean canvas to work off of. When you don’t have something like that, an audacious print almost gets muddied or sullied by the fact that the canvas is not really of good quality. It doesn’t really fit well. In order for the loud pieces to shine, you have to have a good base,” Norton said.

But for Norton, the fit of the pieces is equally important as the look and feel.

“When I design, I start with a pattern based on my own body, a size 3XL, and then grade up or down from there. We only produce sizes large through 4XL, waist 36 to 46, because I believe if you want to truly flatter bigger bodies, they have to be centered in the design process. Most brands design on a small or medium fit model and simply scale everything up. It’s like enlarging a photo; everything grows evenly instead of where it actually needs room,” Norton said. 

“I learned that from small to large, brands typically add about an inch and a half per size in key areas. But from XL and up, the grading jump can be four and a half inches, which makes no sense proportionally. That is why so many garments fit poorly on bigger men. I created my own grading rules, allowing for more thoughtful increases in areas like the stomach, shoulders, and arms, but nothing as extreme as four and a half inches.”

To create his seat at the table, he needed to take something that not everyone was doing and truly make it his own. Creating his own scale for a big and tall clothing brand is not something everyone does, but Norton knew it was necessary to ensure men had luxury options.

MANY is growing as a brand, and Norton hopes that it never stops. He hopes to see the brand add more sizes and see how customers can add their own twist to the pieces. With the current collection available for purchase, MANY provides capsule pieces, allowing people to accessorise however they like.

Many is available at manyapparel.com, ready to prove that big and tall men’s clothing is just as important and necessary as every other size.