Think Christian McCaffrey looks fly? This Charlotte designer gets the credit.
When the Carolina Panthers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London on Oct. 13, you probably weren’t worried about what running back Christian McCaffery was wearing. But Mitch Purgason was.
A Charlotte-based celebrity stylist, Purgason designs suits for dozens of NFL players, McCaffery included. It was Purgason’s job to make sure that when off-the-clock McCaffery strode through Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium, he was dressed to the nines — or the 10s, if you’re measuring in first downs. A pinstriped, double-breasted number with an embossed “London 2019” beneath the top collar did the trick. The look was sharp, and Purgason wrote on Instagram, “London was for the taking, and the drip was at its ‘Peak.’” Clearly, it was a moment worth celebrating for the young designer.
He’s only 27, but he’s already designed suits for NASCAR drivers and guys who play for the Houston Texans, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. His Panthers clients include McCaffery, Jarius Wright, Chris Hogan and DeAndrew White. Some of his other NFL clients include Mason Rudolph, George Kittle, Josh Gordon and DJ Reader. He also recently designed a suit for mural artist Timothy Goodman using his artwork and has designed clothes for entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and basketball coaches Jeff and Jason Capel.
That’s a lot of uppercut left for Purgason, who’s officially been in business for only six years, but it’s to be expected from an entrepreneur who turned a college assignment (start a business) into a full-time, post-graduate gig.
Yes, that’s how Purgason started making suits. While studying at Appalachian State University, he took an entrepreneurship class that required he start a business. A college basketball player, Purgason paid close attention to the off-court looks of pro athletes. “It was like a runway before every game,” he said. He knew he wanted to help other men replicate those fashions.
Class project
The original concept — again, the class assignment — was to create affordable custom suits for college students. Purgason started researching fabrics, buttons, everything that makes a suit a suit. He ordered materials from Italy and found a master tailor in China to help him put together his first designs. As he dug deeper into the material world, his passion for the project grew, and he educated himself further on high-end fashion and the suit-making process, even traveling to China to learn how the sausage is made. (Today, most of his suits are made in Los Angeles, but China is where it all began.)
He also began doing what entrepreneurs do: meeting with potential clients and getting shot down, sometimes painfully so. One memorable meeting with an Atlanta millionaire, when Purgason was only 21 and had $60 in his pocket, left him with a few hard-earned pointers and just enough gas money to drive home.
But that’s all in the past, right? Anyone who’s outfitting NFL players, college basketball coaches and CEOs has officially “made it,” yes? That depends on your definition of success.
Starting out
Purgason recently wrote this on LinkedIn: “6 years ago this month I started my clothing company. I didn’t apply for any jobs out of college, and every application I received from my parents or friends I ignored. I couldn’t afford rent for the first 2 years, so I slept on many couches, and spent many nights sleeping in my car. Fast forward a couple years of hard work and yes, I have had some success and some pretty cool things happen. By no means is my business perfect, as there are plenty of things I learn every week on how to improve.”
He credits a lot of his benchmarks thus far to an internship early on with Mark Cuban, the businessman and investor of Shark Tank fame. He said working with Cuban helped him learn how to connect and interact with with highly successful people. “So many people see celebrities or athletes, and they just want a picture, and that’s it,” Purgason said. “Whether they are a celebrity or not, I treat everyone the same because at the end of the day, people are people. I don’t see them as clients. I see them as friends.”
Purgason made it clear that you have to treat celebrities like normal people — because they are. Purgason said he’s established close ties with the men he designs for because relationship-building is central to what he does. His main goal is to make sure each of his clients looks and feels his best.
He does that through small thoughtful gestures, like mailing cufflinks or other accessories to clients when he comes across something he thinks they’ll like. He also does a fair amount of research to make sure he’s striking the right tone. “I made a suit for Chris Hogan,” he said. “I knew about his time with the Patriots, so I added an engraving to his back collar that referenced something I’d read about him in a book. I knew he’d enjoyed it.” Purgason added that the entire goal of his process and experience is to make it as personal as possible.
In the details
Other Purgason touches include contrast stitching, or two or three colors combined, on the lapels — “You can’t do dual or tri-colored thread unless you’re a really skilled tailor” — and sheepskin or suede inner back collars. He plays with liners, too, and recently designed a suit with Bank of America Stadium and the Charlotte skyline featured inside. He said he gets a lot of his inspiration from racing and vintage cars. “Racing stripes and vintage uniforms give me a lot of inspiration in terms of details that add a classic element to a modern garment,” he said.
Looking ahead, Purgason said he’d love to design suits for Justin Timberlake, Leonardo DiCaprio, Roger Federer, George Clooney and Michael Jordan — his top five, but by no means exhaustive or a statement about his current clientele. “I’m actually pretty happy with all the guys I’ve designed for so far,” he said.
He’s currently working on a yet-to-be-revealed clothing art show, as well as experimenting with virtual reality and artificial intelligence in retail. “I’m starting to incorporate more technology into what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m obsessed with trying to stretch the envelope there.
What’s most important, though, is that he keep his creativity flowing. “I want to have fun,” he said. “I want people to be shocked and excited.
“I do design work because I love it, and I genuinely think I was created to do design,” Purgason added. “I happen to work with celebrities, and yes, that is really cool and I am honored to do it, but at the end of the day, they are my friends and I value the friendship over anything else. I believe my work has value because people usually take pictures at events. Pictures are what your kids, grandkids, will have long after you are gone, so in a way I like to think I help with one’s legacy.”
Stitched by Mitch
Instagram: @stitchedbymitch
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 5:45 AM.