Isabel Figlarek is co-owner and designer at Club 24, a Dutch menswear label with a clear starting point: timeless essentials that make men more beautiful, without seasonal pressure or compromises on quality. Together with her two business partners, she is building a permanent range of 100 percent cotton, made in a permanent studio in Portugal. The brand is now active through more than 70 independent retailers in the Netherlands.
FashionUnited talked to Figlarek about how the brand uses quality and continuity as differentiating factors in the market for independent retailers and why a compact team of three is sometimes the biggest advantage.
NOOS as a business choice
For Club 24, NOOS is not a marketing term, but the core of the business model. “NOOS forces you to make choices that last,” says Figlarek. “You don’t design for one season, you design something that has to be just as good in two years.” At the same time, the NOOS model places high demands on product quality: “A repeat order from Club Navy must be exactly the same color in two years as it is today.”
This has a direct practical advantage for retailers: no inventory risk. They order what they need, when they need it, and can replenish their bestsellers at any time. No large advance purchases, no markdowns at the end of the season. The product never goes on sale, so the margin remains intact.
Club 24 guarantees this consistency through a long-term collaboration with the same studio in Portugal, supplemented with a reference library of all colors ever launched. “If a color is no longer reproducible at the level we want, we phase it out rather than accept a compromise.” Each piece is made by hand, which sounds like a risk to consistency, but the opposite is true: “The people who make our shirt recognize deviations faster than a machine,” says Figlarek.
Lite Tee and shorts: trusted fit, lighter material
The Lite Tee follows the same design logic as the existing range. The fit is identical to the Freedom Fit Tee, including the roll-up sleeve. Only the neckline has been set slightly lower for more wearing comfort on warmer days. “The idea is that you can switch blindly between the two: the same familiar feeling, but tailored to the season.”
The difference is in the material. Club 24 translates 100 percent cotton into a lighter quality jersey, where the weave structure and strength are maintained. The innovation is aimed at a wearing feeling that suits warmer days.
For SS27, the brand is presenting a new casual short at the fairs to complement the Lite Tee, Freedom Fit Tee and the new Essential Longsleeve. The shorts are also made of interlock, slightly heavier, with the same recognizable Club 24 signatures such as the roll-up and the Free Again philosophy as a foundation. “Together they form more than individual items. It is a well-thought-out concept in which fit, quality and simplicity come together.”
Three owners, three domains
Club 24 is led by three co-owners, each responsible for their own domain. Isabel manages design and production partners, Ruben the sales process and daily retail contacts, Daan strategy, finance and technology. That structure makes decision-making direct. “If I want to change something in the product, I don’t have to make a presentation to management. We discuss it, decide, and it happens.” In a model that relies on product consistency and close collaboration with external workshops, this is a structural advantage. “You don’t have that speed as a larger company,” says Figlarek.
SS27: Less, but better
The collection vision for SS27 is in line with the existing foundation: less, but better and expanding where it makes sense. “The idea is always the same: one fit that you trust, in materials that suit the moment.” The Freedom Fit Tee remains the core. The Lite Tee will become a full-fledged part of the permanent range. The shorts are the next step in that same line. Club 24 does not design based on trends or seasonal themes, but on the question: “Does our customer wear this together with what he already has?”
The silhouette does not change for SS27 and that is a conscious choice. The Freedom Fit is designed to fit most men without being too tight or too loose. The connecting factor in the collection is the 24-Hour Cotton: Club 24’s own material. The core colors are maintained, supplemented with seasonal shades for spring and summer 2027 that will be unveiled at the fair.
For Figlarek, Club 24’s ambition is clear: “To make men more beautiful. Not by changing him, but by designing clothing that is correct in material, fit and feel.”
