BEARABLE FASHION
Designer Nicholas Clements-Lindsey couldn’t find sexy clothes for men of size like himself. So he created them
By ARNOLD WAYNE JONES
Ever notice how, at the end of a runway show, the designer comes out to take a bow and is usually dressed like he just wandered off the street and picked through a hamper? Some designers only know how to dress model-thin women, and leave themselves to the rack at The Gap.
Well, not Nicholas Clements-Lindsey. The Angeleno (and former Dallasite) was a fashionista before he was a fashion designer — a man who had a great sense of style about his own person and the courage to show it off. And that’s not always easy for a tall, big man for whom fashion options often seemed relegated to muumuus, kaftans and sweatpants. (But hey, nobody’s dissing a good pair of grey sweatpants!)
It was the desire to let other big men the freedom to express themselves and embrace their plus-sized bodies that led him to found (with business partner Grant Barrett) a new company which he dubs an “online subscription social brand” called Bearbox. It’s more than just fashion, though — it’s about lifestyle.
There are two components to Bearbox; one is where the “social” part comes in. The idea is to offer a platform for larger (gay) men to network and share their thoughts on body image and more. Then there is the apparel aspect to “make people feel comfortable and sexy in the skin they are in.”
All of this is a deviation from his original career track. After attending Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Clements-Lindsey interned in Italy initially to study music. He quickly changed to studying culture and fashion and those became his passions. “I wanted to create a new world, but I didn’t know how to sew and I wasn’t a great sketcher,” he laughs.
He returned to North Texas and set off to teach himself pattern-making and sewing and construction over the course of a summer. He ended up making an eight-piece collection which he mounted for a few dozen influencers (full disclosure: I attended that show). It was a hit with some powerful people at Vogue and Essence “even though I didn’t know what I was doing!” He eventually showed in Los Angeles Fashion Week and later New York Fashion Week, at which time he became the youngest Black designer ever to mount a collection at the storied showcase.
Fashion took a back seat to his career in technology, but the desire to find clothes that were fun and comfortable remained a constant bee in his ear. He talked to men around the world to find a luxury men’s apparel brand for men of size who want to feel sexy even if they don’t have the traditional “hot gay male” body type.
“It’s about what’s comfortable to bears and what makes them feel accepted,” he says. “I’ve learned a lot from the bear community about what they like and don’t like to wear. Bear fashion isn’t that exciting — regular T-shirts, shorts. But the fun part is the personality that makes their clothes so much more fun. We are colorful and quick to speak and snappy with one-liners. So we wanted a vibrant, or comic-nerd style of fashion and old classics. We want to build that into this brand.”
Sometimes being different can stir resentment. He recalls how, some years ago, he went out with friends in L.A “wearing a legwarmer and a shirt with a cute little scarf and a bag — everyone thought that was so cute.” He was surprised, then, that when he showed up at a party in Dallas a few months later similarly dressed the host was angered. “I know in Dallas if I wear something I will get a different reaction than if I wear [Ralph Lauren] Polo among a white crowd,” he says.
The models on Bearbox reflect his commitment to inclusion. All are plus-sized, some more muscular while others more teddybearish; some are hairy and others bald; some young, some middle aged; and they span different races and ethnicities. But they all have in common the desire to own their fleshiness.
“I’m a size 40, and the clothes I was seeing in the stores in West Hollywood didn’t represent me as a person of size or as a person of color,” Clements-Lindsey says. “There was a disconnect. I decided we have to do better than this. And then I realized guys want to talk to other guys who look like themselves, but are missing out on something very special. I wanted all kinds of guys to get together and know themselves.” (He’s already received support from folks like out Looking star Daniel Franzese; even Drag Racer Tatiana is a fan.)
He learned a lot about digital media as well as fashion tech and designs by consulting men from around the world. But the project became even more profound for him while launching the brand during Black Lives Matter.
“We are such a sexualized community but very clique-ish as well, even before BLM, I noticed people of color have a hard time reaching out to the mainstream community with an initial conversation about race,” Clements-Lindsey says. “One of my struggles during this moment is that I had so many conversations with people all around the world who didn’t understand what was going on [in the U.S. concerning race relations]. Some were like, ‘Well if it’s not happening on my doorstep it’s not my problem.’ But because the brand is meant to be so inclusive, it was important to bring a social aspect to it and talk it over. I needed to go ahead and break that mold. Creating an underwear brand while having people talk about issues seemed important.”
Sizes for the brand start at 34 — no S-XS for his clientele — and go up to size 52. Currently Bearbox offers underwear and streetwear, but Clements-Lindsey has plans for expansion.
“Jockstraps are our staple right now,” he says. “Our main focus is our underwear and activewear, but we want to do swimwear and trunks in the future. It’s a process. There’s a lot of trial and error. I just wanted to make a difference.”
You can shop BearboxWorld.com and follow the brand on Instagram.
