Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) is entering the polo game with a new brand it says is “designed for those who refuse to conform to outdated dress codes.” Prim + Preux, set to launch in January, consists of 25 styles, ranging from traditional polos to long-sleeve quarter-zips, which the company believes have largely replaced long-sleeved polos in end-users’ closets.

The garments in the new line also range in price point, with 100% Pima cotton at the high-end and blends and polyester constructions in other product tiers. The color palette is unique from other Gildan brands, and includes shades like pine, magnet, tulip and blossom.

Merchandising manager Summer Scott says Prim + Preux takes its cue from retail. “You have to be current,” she notes of appealing to the fashion-conscious end-users the new brand is targeting. For instance, Prim + Preux offers several polos with a nontraditional Henley collar and a higher version of the same neckline, dubbed an “officer collar.”

“The Henley silhouette is a new take on the polo,” Scott says, adding that at retail, “Henleys are everywhere right now.”

There are also several styles designed specifically for women, some of which feature distinctive fashion necklines, including a “Y-neck” and “funnel V-neck.”

Though the initial offering from Prim + Preux will be just polo shirts, Gildan executives say they plan is to expand into other aspects of corporate wear in the future. “We’re starting out with polos, but that’s not where we’ll end up,” says Tim Heljenek, director of brand marketing for Gildan.

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