The Minnesota roommates turned design partners on pandemic timing, genderless design, and dressing everyone from small-town brides to Ariana Grande.

PHOTOGRAPHY&nbsp;Jacq Harriet
STYLED BY&nbsp;Trinidad Alamos

When conversing with Fletcher Kasell, one half of the Tanner Fletcher design duo, you can expect to hear the words fun and community on repeat. These are the pillars upon which Kasell and his partner (both professionally and personally) Tanner Richie built their now-six-year-old brand, and what keeps them going on the daily.
“First off, we have just been super-lucky,” says Kasell, from the comfort of his Chelsea design studio. (Richie is busy in the Garment District, sourcing materials for their upcoming collection.) “Our path has been amazing and most of the time, we’ve just been having a lot of fun. I think that’s what is really most important.”
The path in question is that of the pair’s namesake brand, which they launched in 2020 after having met in 2016 as roommates at the University of Minnesota. Kasell hailed from Two Harbors, Minnesota, and Richie from Rice Lake, Wisconsin; both see their college years as a stepping stone to their lives today in New York, where their ambition is fueled by the energy around them. “I think it’s a very driven culture, which I love,” says Kasell. “We’re both really driven people and that gets amped up in New York. And then we also love the fashion community here.”

LOLA: Dress TANNER FLETCHER

Both Kasell and Richie dabbled in fashion from a young age—Kasell liked to experiment with “flamboyant,” colorful, and pattern-heavy looks from typical mall brands in high school, while Richie started Vintage Twist, a collection of handbags, totes, and pencil pouches that became an instant hit in his small town. “It’s funny because he became kind of famous,” says Kasell. “I think that is where a lot of the entrepreneurship comes in.”
Fast-forward to the COVID era when, shortly after moving to New York City, Kasell and Richie were already questioning their respective futures at Saint Laurent and a staging company as pandemic-induced layoffs hit. “We had a lot of time on our hands and some unemployment money, and we were like, Let’s just start doing our thing,” says Kasell. “We had no idea what we were doing, but one thing led to another, and then it just kept growing.”
For Tanner Fletcher, growth meant a 2023 spot in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund; launching a bridal collection; seeing their pieces on celebrities like Bad Bunny, Ariana Grande, and Hudson Williams; and generating a community of customers and supporters who appreciate their genderless designs and the meaning behind them—all in less than five years.
“What we wanted when we started was to have so many different people wearing the brand,” says Kasell, who cherishes the sight of non-famous brides in the brand’s wedding collection as much as he does A-listers in its ready-to-wear. “We really just want to break down the walls and be like, Whoever you are, however you dress, we are here for you.”

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MODELS:&nbsp;Naina Agorot MARILYN NEW YORK and Lola Bebe THE INDUSTRY MODEL MANAGEMENT
HAIR:&nbsp;Ginger Leigh Ryan using ROZ HAIR
MAKEUP:&nbsp;Sophie Hartnett using MAC COSMETICS
MANICURE:&nbsp;Mamie Onishi SEE MANAGEMENT using CHANEL BEAUTY
PRODUCED BY:&nbsp;Emily Adar
PHOTO ASSISTANTS:&nbsp;Juan Cuartas Rueda and Evan Odiorn
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Tanner Fletcher Is Here for Whoever You Are

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