New Western Luxury Brand Launches; Embraces Fort Worth, Cowboy Culture
By Tori Couch
Photos by Paul Rogers and courtesy of Stockyard Supply Co.
Stockyard Supply Co., a Western luxury retail brand inspired by Fort Worth and its cowboy culture, launched Thursday with a fall clothing line.
Being a cowboy or rancher, though, is by no means a prerequisite for shopping at the Fort Worth-based company.
“Whether you’re a city boy or whether you’re actually off the ranch, we want to be that brand,” co-founder Eric Nelsen says. “We’re not tailoring it to one specific group, but anybody who’s got the inner cowboy in them.”
Nelsen, a producer and actor best known for his role in the television drama “1883,” started the company with co-founder Ryan Dukes, an entrepreneur and former combat pilot.
Stockyard Supply Co. will retail exclusively online at stockyardsupplyco.com. A social media presence, including a YouTube channel, will help Stockyard Supply Co. develop into a lifestyle brand as well, Nelsen says.
The fall line includes performance pearl snap shirts in four different colors, two rodeo king vests and a canvas Western bomber jacket. T-shirts, hoodies, hats – with seven styles to choose from including several rope hats – and a koozie are also part of the initial release.
Clothing names are intentionally chosen, reflecting Western culture and the company’s Fort Worth ties. The performance pearl snaps, made of polyester and spandex, are also called the “header,” a nod to the rider who ropes in front of a steer in the team roping event. The rodeo king vest, featuring machine-washable suede and quilt stitching, lets the wearer “feel like you’re the king of the rodeo,” Dukes says.
Western yokes are a common motif on the fall clothing line along with functionality. The pearl snap shirts have a swatch of sunglass cleaning fabric on the inside while the rodeo vest has zipper pulls at the top and bottom to prevent a bubble from forming when sitting down.
“We design everything with the idea of what makes a cowboy a cowboy, and that is versatility,” Dukes says. “They can two-step on Friday nights, but then they can wake up Saturday morning, go work cattle. And to have that duality in our clothing is really important to us.”
Read more about Stockyard Supply Co. in the December issue of 360West.