MEDIA KIT
DOUBLE D RANCH Brand Profile Three thousand miles southwest of Seventh Avenue, a family of mavericks is building an unlikely fashion empire. Double D Ranch was founded in 1990 and continues to strive for quality in their product as well as in their lives and the lives of the people they love. Thirty-three years after a humbling start in a garage, this company has continued to grow and change the way the Southwest views fashion.
Image Above Turn It Up Collection FALL 2005
DOUBLE D RANCH About Us
F
inding a fashion house in the middle of South Texas is like finding a Prada store in the middle of the Great Plains. But they exist.
From a long line of revolutionaries and outlaws comes Western Couture’s First Family, Double D Ranch. Since 1990, the women of Double D Ranch have been blazing a trail that has turned a garage operation into a 30-year plus company that is able to hold it’s own in today’s world of fast-paced fashion. Every collection includes luxurious fabrics adorned with brand staples like genuine silver buttons, hand embroidery and beading. Creative Director, Cheryl McMullen, along with her team of designers, produce six collections a year. Each one leaves customers astounded at the creativity and brilliance that has defined the brand for a quarter of a century. However, their success as fashion industry professionals has not been what defines them over the years. It is their ability to embrace culture and heritage as mavericks and throw the formulas and rulebooks right out the pick-up truck window. At the core of everything they’ve created lies their unconditional love of their family. The luxury and daring looks that have become a Double D Ranch trademark have continued to define Western fashion and lifestyle and will continue to blaze a trail into the unknown. But the heart of the company will forever remain in the small town of Yoakum, TX.
How We Began T H E C O AT T H AT R E - D E F I N E D W E S T E R N F A S H I O N Appearing in the first collection in 1990, the original Blanket Coat is the coat that created the brand Double D Ranch. From that coat, collection after collection has been produced. Years have gone by and the company has grown tremendously, but the original blanket coat is never far from our thoughts.
HIS TORY
It was on a family ski vacation in 1989 when Cheryl McMullen’s bout of altitude sickness forced her off of Angel Fire Mountain and down into the tiny town of Taos, New Mexico. While standing in line to have her prescription filled, Cheryl caught a glimpse of a man wearing a stunning Native American blanket coat. She had a local artisan craft one for herself and packed it back to Texas. A month later Cheryl and her younger sister, Audrey, headed off to Dallas Gift Market to buy for their Interior Design store. After being stopped multiple times by women desperate to know where she had found such an incredible coat, the sisters decided this might be something they should consider producing. Image Above Cowgirls Collection HOLIDAY 2023
With their father Doug’s animated encouragement, the girls were joined by their middle sister Hedy and their mother, Margie. What began as a few simple coats to fund the family’s next ski vacation, turned into an incredible 33 year journey that has re-defined western fashion.
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S I LV E R L A B E L
We do quiet luxury the DDR way with our high end division Silver Label. Sophistication meets the untamed spirit of the West in this edit which features the most elegant pieces we’ve ever made. These limited edition styles are crafted from premium materials like exotic skins and sumptuous furs. Each design is individually tagged and extra
H E R I TA G E C O L L E C T I O N
Certain Double D Ranch pieces stay in demand far beyond the anticipated shelf-life – and when that happens we add them to our Heritage Collection. An edit of timeless classics that have proven their staying power over and over again. This is where you’ll find
Image Above Lajitas Collection FALL 2011
FOUNDERS
THE WOMEN BEHIND THE BRAND Bios MARGIE MCMULLEN
CHERYL MCMULLEN
HEDY C ARTER
AUDRE Y FR ANZ
Chief Financial Officer
Creative Director
Head of Production
Chief Executive Officer
The matriarch of the Double D Ranch family, Margie oversees all finances as well as her three daughters. She has seen the company grow from a spark to an influencer and has had her heart and hands in it every step of the way.
Born the oldest of three, Cheryl has always had an eye for beautiful things. She graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Interior Design. She cofounded Double D Ranch in 1990 and has been the head designer from the very beginning. She currently resides as Creative Director and oversees all projects from design to marketing.
The middle of three, Hedy finished school at the University of Texas with a degree in Communications. She now oversees the sampling and production of each collection. She sits in on all design meetings and fittings and is our line of communication to our factories and producers.
The youngest of the family, Audrey maintains the order and peace of the company. Another cofounder, she oversees every aspect of the company as the reigning CEO and continues to have a hand-on approach with every separate division. She sits in on design meetings, attends Apparel Markets, oversees shipping and production, all while making sure everything runs smoothly.
In her spare time, Margie enjoys breeding American Quarter Horses - the faster the better.
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IMAGE ABOVE PHOTOGR APH PROFILE IMAGE S T U D I O S TA N D A R D 2016/ 17
Reid Slaughter Author, director, & CEO of Bandana Media
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
While her designs have been called “forward” and “ahead of her time” for their broad, crossover appeal, Cheryl reaches back into history for inspiration. When you first see a Double D Ranch collection, you see exquisite pieces designed with quality and art in mind. But there is so much more in each piece. The design process and philosophy is vital to the brand and creation of Double D Ranch. Whether it be rummaging through local flea markets or visting Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming, Cheryl McMullen continues to find ways to inspire and reinvent the Double D Ranch brand as well as western apparel. Although she was not trained as a fashion designer, Cheryl has found a knack for using her inspiration and creating sought after apparel. Her ideas know now bounds, and although the original ideas are sometimes reworked because they are too elaborate, she, along with her team, always find a way to bring collectible apparel to her loyal customers. Her greatest inspiration, however, comes from reaching into the history of the West, particularly that of the Native Americans. The sense of pride and style that the Native Americans posess has been a constant inspiration in the Double D Ranch lines and continues to inspire the design team as they reach back into what made the West what it is today. The trends from Paris and New York are also an influence, but the question they ask is never “how can we make this work?” but “how can we make this work in a way that embraces the culture of the West?”
Images Right (L - R) Chasing Santa Fe Collection SPRING 2014 Turn It Up Collection FALL 2005
Creative Design Philosophy “Ignorance has it’s advantages. If I had been classically trained at a design school, then I would know the production limitations. I would know that you’re not supposed to put 300 studs on a velvet dress. Fortuanately, I never learned about limits.”
Cheryl McMullen
IMAGE ABOVE PHOTOGR APH PROFILE IMAGE S T U D I O S TA N D A R D 2016/ 17
Reid Slaughter Author, director, & CEO of Bandana Media
CELEBRITIES
Outfitting the Stars From Rock Stars to First Ladies, Double D Ranch continues to inspire the fashion choices of the Rich and Famous. Double D Ranch has been setting trends in the Western industy for decades. However, their timeless trends have crossed over all industries. From politicians to those in the entertainment industry; from rising stars to the ones who are already well established; Double D Ranch continues to inspire Hollywood with their exquisite style. A-Listers include: First Ladies Barbara & Laura Bush, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison; Musicians Steven Tyler, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Ronnie Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Pat Green, Tanya Tucker, Cher, Lynard Skynard, Alice Cooper, Skylar Lane & Erika Van Pelt of American Idol; Actors Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses, Kirsti Alley, Jane Seymour, Linda Gray, Jennifer Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Hollywood Undead; CBS Sports Broadcaster Kadee Coffman; and Fashion Icon Iris Apfel.