Big News! 

MADI Apparel is now carried in the brand new Kansas City International Airport!

Find our product section in the far left side of the Made in Kansas City Marketplace store in the KCI airport right next to Skin KC.

This has been a very long and exciting process that we've been working on for multiple years, and it's so fun to see it come to fruition. We would've had no idea when MADI Apparel started in 2013, that a decade later our hard work would translate into global travelers being able to shop our products in our hometown airport. WHAT?! We're so grateful!

We've received so much support from you - our customers - but also tons of questions on how this all began and how the shop works. Do we staff our airport shop? How did we get in the airport to begin with? Etc. Below are the most popularly received FAQs that we've answered to clear things up!

Thank you to everyone who's supported us these past ten years, it's a dream come true to be able to continue making ethical staple basics that give back very urgent need requests for underwear to worldwide communities.

Also, we have a very exciting special going on for a limited time!

For any MADI Apparel item you buy from the Kansas City airport, we will not only donate a pair of underwear to our partners Smart Child Kenya, but we will send YOU a free pair of underwear of your choice. All you have to do is make a MADI Apparel purchase at KCI, post about it on instagram or tik tok and tag us, and then email us a screenshot of your post + photo of your airport purchase receipt to : customerservice@madiapparel.com. We'll send you a 100% off code to pick out any of our womens or mens underwear styles that we'll ship to you for free!

FAQs about MADI Apparel in the new KCI

How was MADI Apparel selected as one of the brands to be carried in the new airport?

The process started back in 2020 when we found out that KCI was building a new airport terminal. Our team really felt like this could be a perfect growth area for us since our products are locally made in Kansas City, our products are designed to be lifetime staples and super comfy for travel, and because of our big give-back mission that worldwide travelers could take part in! So, we signed up to hear more about the airport retail, and waited to hear. 

The next part felt like fate. SEPARATELY, we were approached by one of the airport retail concessions brands that was putting together an RFP bid to hopefully "win" the airport retail concessions after the new airport was built. It's a much longer process than we even knew about from our end, and for months already, these airport concessions brands were moving around town looking for brands to include in their RFP bid. One of the multiple groups - Marshall Retail Group - stopped by our store, emailed us, called us, basically they were just really excited about finding us and wanted to know if we wanted to be part of their airport design proposal. Of course it was an immediate YES on our end :).

Marshal Retail Group put together their RFP bid proposal for city council, the airport committee, and anyone else on the team making the decision for which group to select for food, beverage and retail concessions. Our group included the other brands that you're able to shop and eat from in the new airport like Martin City Brewery, Stockyards Brewery, Christopher Elbow, Parisi Coffee, Messenger Coffee, Skin KC, Brown and Loe, etc. It worked like this: if our bid was selected, our group would get to be in the new airport. If one of the other bids was selected (there were about eight retail concessions groups that proposed separate bids with including different, mostly non-local companies), then none of the companies you see in the airport today would be in there today. Ours was majority all local, and after many city council meetings and lots of back and forth, our bid with Marshall Retail Group and Vantage was ultimately selected! It was so exciting!

According to this article by Forbes, our new airport concept is full of 80% local vendors!

Do we have our own store in the airport?

We don't have our own entire store, but the majority of the retail (clothing, at least) is carried in one large store concept filled with products made in Kansas City or screen printed in Kansas City. As you can see in the photo above, we have a lovely display in our own section of the Made in Kansas City Marketplace where thirteen of our ethical fashion and plant based vegan leather products are carried. Because the airport staffs this store, and because it includes other brands and not just our own, you won't be able to use MADI Apparel gift cards here and you won't be able to return or exchange any MADI Apparel products here that you purchased on our website or in our KC flagship store.  

We don't control the pricing, so you'll notice price points are slightly higher than in our store or website, but don't forget - for any MADI Apparel item you buy at KCI, we'll send you a free pair of women's or men's underwear of your choice.

Since MADI Apparel is carried in the Made in Kansas City Marketplace, does that mean our brands are attached?

This may seem confusing, but we aren't tied to the Made in Kansas City Marketplace in any way, other than a display alongside other amazing stores in their airport location! Marshall Retail Group is our buyer, and they're the group that orders all of our products and the only group that we communicate with regarding our airport products and display. 

Does MADI Apparel staff work at the airport store?

No, none of our team members are employed at KCI, and actually it's relatively difficult for us to see our airport display area unless one of us actually traveling, since it's past security. We were able to see our display before the general public on the ribbon cutting day, but otherwise, the airport staffers control all of our re-stocks and help with all customer transactions. If you're shopping our airport selection and ever have a concerning interaction with a staffer working in the store, please do let us know. Anyone working in this store is not directly part of our team, but we would still love to know about it so we can pass along the feedback and improve the Kansas City airport shopping experience!

What if something is out of stock?

You're always welcome to check our website or Kansas City store stock selections, but we really prefer that you support our airport store! When you support our airport store, we're not only able to donate underwear to a very important international non-profit with a very big ongoing need for underwear - Smart Child Kenya - but this also means that hopefully we will continue to be carried! Being carried in the KCI airport is a very big deal for our small business, and we'd love to continue to keep you comfy while traveling for years to come!

Thank you for supporting our small biz and for learning more about our mini store in the Kansas City airport!