Manresa: No Man Is An Island
How one man has carved his own path in menswear, and why it matters.
For many people, shopping for clothing is a less-than-pleasant experience. It requires hours spent sifting through stuff that all feels derivative of something else—the result of merchandising teams and investors who deal in established formulas and incremental corner-cutting rather than genuine passion and personal vision. In this world of increasingly bland, increasingly cheapened products, Manresa stands apart.
Founded by Norwalk, CT local Mike McLachlan, Manresa is a refreshing reminder that the pursuit of any single dedicated man can, with enough support, be seen for what it is among the throngs of big-budget “heritage” brands.
Mike didn’t come to fashion through the usual channels. There was no design school or industry internship, just a love for clothing that started at age 12. He didn’t know the first thing about making clothes, but he knew what he wanted: to wear things that felt personal—like they reflected his life and his interests. And he didn’t just want to make them for himself—he wanted to share them with anyone who felt the same way.
Manresa is pure New England at its core. It’s about creating things that are functional, thoughtful, and rooted in a local history. Mike’s design philosophy is influenced by his roots here and his Scottish heritage, and there’s a relationship there that ties back to both. Not only the shared climates but also certain principles that both cultures value. Imbued in each garment Mike designs, you get a sense of pride for the working class grit, the scholars, the sportsmen, and even the slackers of society. No stone is unturned; there are archetypes of people we knew and grew up with, but they’re all a little more polished. The idealized versions of them we’ve conjured either through revisionist history or maybe just how we saw them as kids. Mike doesn’t get that heady with it, but to me, Manresa embodies this romanticized take on our community, what life might have been, maybe still is, and could yet be. It’s Americana through a small-town lens.
The name Manresa comes from a small island in the Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Norwalk River—a river I grew up rowing on. From the 1950s to the 1990s, a coal-powered plant on the island used its waste byproduct, coal ashes, to fill the surrounding tidelands and connect Manresa to the mainland. The significant ground pollution that resulted, along with decades of industrial dumping and poor management of urban runoff and wastewater, developed a certain reputation for the Norwalk River and its surrounding areas–one that took decades to remedy and restore in an ongoing effort dating back to the EPA’s foundation in 1970. For many, it’s become a symbol of rebirth—an exercise in finding harmony with our environment and undoing the damage of the past. For Mike, it’s about finding pride in where you come from.
What’s remarkable about Mike’s approach is how he’s built Manresa on his own terms. He’s intentionally kept the brand small, focusing on direct-to-consumer sales and forging close relationships with those who enter his flock. This isn’t about becoming mass market or playing by the typical rules of fashion. He wouldn’t even know where to start with that anyway. He’s not interested in making things just to sell—they’re made because they need to exist. And while Manresa has found a loyal following, it’s not by chasing after anyone else’s formula. Mike’s in it for the long haul, and for as long as there are things he wants to make and wear himself, Manresa will be around.
Make no mistake, it hasn’t been an easy journey. Like many small brands, Manresa has faced challenges when it comes to manufacturing. Finding the right partners, especially in the U.S., has been no small feat, with minimum order quantities often in the high hundreds, if not thousands—requiring a significant amount of capital upfront. While this initially forced Mike and many others to find manufacturing overseas, the contrast between the struggle here and the relative ease of manufacturing in China opened his eyes to what healthy, sustainable business practices can look like, whether at home or abroad. Since the turn of the 20th century, China has slowly become the global hub for garment manufacturing, and along with that attention has come strong regulations and a growing reputation to maintain. Even here in America, much of the technology, equipment, and expertise in garment manufacturing today comes from China. The woman who runs the factory Mike uses also helps him source anything she can’t do from other local vendors, often on the same street.
Through the Manresa project Bluehorse, Mike has made it a priority to develop relationships with local factories, like the New England Shirt Company, and has invested in machinery to produce things like selvage denim on an entirely local scale. Bluehorse will see that denim, along with 3-packs of tees and socks in 2025, and a family in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is helping to develop some more technical designs locally. While all of this is more expensive to produce, for Mike, it’s a worthwhile investment, not only supporting American production—but keeping things close to home and doing them the right way.
Looking ahead, Mike has big plans for Manresa, including a brick-and-mortar store he hopes to open by the end of 2025. Like everything he does, having a store isn’t just about selling clothes but about creating a point of connection—a place where people can experience the clothes and their connection to local culture in a deeper way.
What I respect most about Manresa is how much Mike’s outsider perspective has shaped its success. Without following the typical rules, he’s built something personal, thoughtful, and lasting. In a world where so many brands are more interested in following the latest market trends, Manresa feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s proof that when you stay true to what you believe in, people will take notice.
Loved the article 👌🏼 one of my favorite brands ever
🔥🔥🔥