Kleinfeld Bridal Enters Menswear in Partnering With Generation Tux

Kleinfeld, the legendary luxury bridal retailer, has expanded into menswear through a partnership with Generation Tux, which sells and rents tuxedos and suits.

Located at 110 West 20th Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, Kleinfeld opened the first Manhattan showroom for Generation Tux on Wednesday. The showroom will be on the second level of the 35,000-square-foot Kleinfeld, with more than 25 suit and tuxedo styles plus hundreds of accessory colors.

Shoppers can book in-person appointments for bespoke service online, where they can also peruse and rent suits and tuxedos.

“We have 21,000 families coming to Kleinfeld’s every year,” said Ronnie Rothstein, the owner and chief executive officer. “The groom, the father of the bride, the father of the groom, the best man, wedding party members and the wedding guests all need suits and tuxedos, and we needed to partner with someone with high levels of customer service and can do a lot of it online. The people who run Generation Tux are superb.”

In addition to its website, Generation Tux has nine showrooms around the country, including Dallas, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Atlanta. New York is its 10th location.

In addition, Kleinfeld’s will soon be selling — not renting — a Kleinfeld’s-branded line of Italian-made men’s suits, blazers and tuxedos, produced in conjunction with Generation Tux. The suits and tuxedos will be priced in the $1,000 to $3,000 range, with blazers priced a little less. The focus will be on classic styles, with both peak and notched lapels, as well as classic colors such as dark blue and deep navy. Shirts will also be offered, with prices starting around $200, as will neckwear, cuff links and pocket squares.

Stylists will also be at Kleinfeld to help male shoppers with a free style consultation and wedding party management services. When five people in a wedding party get their suits or tuxedos from Generation Tux, the groom receives a free rental.

“This is a big deal for us,” Rothstein said. “We were trying to figure out what else we could sell to the 21,000 families that come to us every year. We don’t want to be in the bridesmaid business. It’s too commonplace. Here, we are dealing with the bride who directs the groom [about dressing up for the wedding day].”

The partnership will also allow Kleinfeld and Generation Tux to actively share customers, and should bring an additional dimension to the TLC show, “Say Yes to the Dress,” set inside Kleinfeld.

“We are honored to partner with Kleinfeld, an iconic name in the wedding world that has helped define the wedding experience across generations,” said Jason Jackson, the president and chief operating officer of the Louisville, Ky.-based Generation Tux. “Opening our first Manhattan showroom inside Kleinfeld allows us to pair our modern approach to menswear with the elevated, high-touch experience couples expect when they walk through their doors.”

About 15 years ago, Kleinfeld’s took a stab at menswear by doing custom suits and tuxedos, but discontinued the business after only about 18 months. “We shouldn’t have gone into it by ourselves,” Rothstein said. “We are not experts in the men’s business.” That’s where Generation Tux comes in. Kleinfeld opened its doors in 1941 and Generation Tux was founded in 2014.