Fifteen years is not that much time, but in the world of fashion it’s an eternity. Or, rather, it’s enough time to see trends come and go, designers and retailers rise and fall. Perhaps no one has a better grasp of the fickle fashion business, specifically men’s wear, than Toby Bateman, the C.E.O. of the online men’s-fashion site Mr Porter.
Bateman is one of the visionaries that launched the site in 2011. At the time, many were skeptical at the (preposterous!) idea of men buying high-end fashion online. Even fewer believed men would load up their carts with thousands of dollars worth of items. Despite the naysayers, the site took off like a rocket—even being name-dropped in songs by A$AP Rocky and Gunna.
