In 1910, Bernard Gant, a Ukrainian, started working in New York's garment district making shirts. After some years, he relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, where he launched his eponymous label in 1949, defining an elegant New England style and attitude, combined with European design influences, a style that later became known as American Sportswear. The Gant Rugger label draws upon the brand’s Ivy League heritage, reinventing vintage preppy classics for today.