For this episode we were joined by the wonderful Tiffanie Alice, the founder of Parallel x Studio, one of the most promising accessories brands in the UK right now. 

I first came across Tiffanie via Tiktok last year, the passion with which she endorsed her brand coupled with her transparency in sharing her life experiences endeared me to her. After doing some digging into Parallel and seeing all the amazing pieces she's created it was only a matter of time before I reached out and locked it in! From being deported from the UK, becoming Tumblr famous in Canada, then coming back to the UK and living the life she always imagined for herself - No stone was left unturned in this convo! 

Tiffanie shared how her Congolese upbringing, coupled in with her desire to be successful born out of financially difficulty and a God given eye for aesthetics, all played a role in where she's at today. She broke down her interesting design process that has led to iconic pieces such as the Betty and the Lolita bags, delving into the unique references that influence her creations. 

Since recording Tiffanie and Parallel have continued to go from strength to strength, I'm excited to see what she does next, particularly her in-person activations as her imagery lends itself very well to this. 

Follow Parallel x Studio to stay locked in to Tiffanie's brand building journey.

https://www.instagram.com/omgtiffanie/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/parallelxstudio/?hl=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@parallelxstudio?lang=en-GB

https://www.tiktok.com/@omgtiffanie?lang=en-GB

For this episode, we were joined by Emay, the founder of Jehucal, one of the most exciting brands in UK streetwear right now.

I first came across Jehucal a few years ago and was drawn to the brand’s unique mix of elevated streetwear, authenticity, and pure storytelling. To finally sit down with Emay and hear the full journey firsthand was an honour. From starting the brand while juggling university and a part-time job to navigating setbacks, taking a much-needed break, and coming back stronger than ever—this conversation is a must-watch.

Emay broke down how he built Jehucal from scratch, the hustle behind his standout products like the Mirrors Bag, and the lessons he’s learned from the fashion industry, business, and life itself. He shared what it truly takes to build a brand with longevity, why constant innovation is key, and how he’s evolved both as a designer and a man over the years.

Since recording, Jehucal has continued to grow, with some of the biggest releases to date and a wave of new supporters tapping in.

Follow Jehucal to stay locked in to Emay's brand building journey.

https://www.instagram.com/emay4k?igsh=MW00ZnF0d2k3Ymh5Yw==

https://www.instagram.com/jehucal?igsh=M3ViaHhucGV6bWYx

https://www.tiktok.com/@emay4k?_t=ZN-8uJgS50ipU6&_r=1

https://www.tiktok.com/@jehucal?_t=ZN-8uJgRmvBD7u&_r=1

For this episode we were joined by Dagye, the founder of luxury fashion brands A Day Without Angst (ADWOA) and Jeanius Bar Atelier.

I have followed Dagye's journey in fashion for nearly 10 years now, so to finally be able to sit down with him was an honour and a full circle moment. I first came across Dagye through seeing his bespoke denim pieces on my favourite artists Young Thug and Future in the mid-2010's. I remember the feeling of shock when discovering that the designer of these jeans was a German-born Ghanaian guy from Milton Keynes who hadn't studied fashion. How did he beat the odds to end up in these spaces and be dressing some of the biggest artists on the planet!?!

Since then Dagye has gone on to raise the bar and defy expectation year on year. His high fashion brand ADWOA has garnered attention and affinity from key people within culture and his other brand Jeanius Bar Atelier is slowly becoming the front runner in luxury streetwear!

How has Dagye achieved all of this at such a young age? What does it take to build two thriving businesses simultaneously? Who has Dagye had to become to reach this point and how?

This last question became the most pertinent theme of our conversation. Dagye eloquently broke down the experiences he's gone through in life, the fashion industry and ultimately the actions he had to take to grow as a result of these. This made for an incredible conversation that I believe any budding fashion professional needs to hear. This game isn't easy and to reach the pinnacle takes a lot of sacrifice, Dagye's story epitomises this.

Alongside this, Dagye shared his thoughts on the streetwear scene, the importance of personal branding, sustainability, what makes designers great and much, much more!

Since recording Dagye has continued to thrive! Jeanius just dropped their Cream Ottoman collection and the whole thing is fire! From the creative to the fits, Dagye doesn't miss!

Follow Dagye and his brands on social to stay locked in to his ever-growing universe building journey.

https://www.instagram.com/dagye_/
https://www.instagram.com/jeaniusbaratelier/
https://www.instagram.com/adaywithoutangst/
https://www.tiktok.com/@dagye.digital

In this episode, we’re joined by Patrick Adjaye, founder of the fashion hub DressCode Nation. This is an episode we’ve been eager to make happen for a number of reasons.

First, Patrick brings years of experience in the fashion industry for us to tap into. Starting in fashion as a teenager and still thriving over a decade later, Patrick has insights we’re excited to learn from. Second, DressCode Nation has grown into an all-encompassing brand spanning digital and print media, a creative agency, and an apparel line! Building such a universe has taken years of dedication, and we’re thrilled to help him share the story of how he made it happen. Finally, having known Patrick for years, I know how passionate he is about helping others and positively impacting our fashion community—it's only right he comes on our pod to share those keys!

Growing up in South London with Ghanaian parents, Patrick always had an interest in fashion but, like many, had to set it aside to pursue a more secure career in finance. Once there, however, he realized that his true fulfillment lay in fashion. After working in fashion retail for several years, Patrick saw a gap in the industry—a lack of connection between the emerging fashion scene and the creatives needed to bring ideas to life. And from this need, DressCode Nation was born.

In the decade-plus since, Patrick has achieved incredible things with the DressCode Nation brand. Most recently, they launched their print magazine, with artist Unknown T as the first cover star!

Throughout the episode, Patrick shares candidly about the hardships he’s faced along the way. Doors into fashion aren’t as open for a young Black man from a council estate in South London, so you can imagine the work it’s taken for Patrick to reach this point. But it’s not all doom and gloom—Patrick also talks joyfully about some of his biggest wins, including the launch of his apparel brand, DCNstores, and his personal journey into influencing.

Since recording, Patrick and DressCode Nation have continued to thrive. Stay tuned for Patrick’s journey—it’s one you won’t want to miss!

Instagram
TikTok

For this episode we were joined by Chris Kutoya founder of Hackney based brand 1Figures.

From when I became interested in fashion as a teen 1Figures was a brand I would hear about and see very often. Through iconic wears like their 'Nang girls only' hats or their 'I'm broke baby' pieces the brand quickly became one of the most culturally relevant in London. This was at a time where social media WAS NOT what we see today. Instagram wasn't a shop front, there was no tik-tok style apps for you to get a million eyes on your brand from one post. You really needed to do the work in real life, and Chris definitely did that. I know the work it's taken for Chris to get the brand to where it's at so it was an honour to finally sit down with him and talk through his journey.

Being of Congolese descent fashion and style was something Chris was naturally always interested in. Couple this in with an entrepreneurial mindset it was only a matter of time before he started his own clothing line. With Chris being so passionate about his community, he endeavoured to create a brand that represents the beauty of where he's from. This is also something I admire about the brand and another topic we spoke about in-depth.

Throughout the conversation Chris spoke candidly about the ups and the downs of running a brand and touched on pertinent topics including whether brands should have meaning, how to build a community around your brand and more. 1figures recently celebrated it's 10th anniversary so you know he had keys to share for daysssssss.

Thank you to Chris for sharing his story with us. Follow Chris and 1Figures to stay locked into his journey. 

We're back! Thank you so much your patience. For this weeks episode we were joined by Misi and Gigi, the co-founders of fashion consultancy, The Fashion Blueprint.

As you know starting a brand can be very difficult. So many things to do, questions to answer, things to order, etc, Gigi and Misi help people through this process via their consultancy. With both having studied fashion, worked in it or had their own brands, they have a wealth of knowledge to help clients navigate the difficult world of brand building.

The Fashion Blueprints impact goes even a step further as they help facilitate brands in becoming sustainable ones too! The fashion industry is a huge contributor to climate change which further shows the importance of the work Gigi and Misi are doing.

Throughout the episode the pair share what it takes to run a fashion consultancy full time. They delve in to many thing such as the importance of getting along with your business partner, understanding your value, having a 'why' and much, much more.

The pairs honesty, charm, passion and knowledge made for an incredible episode that you will not only enjoy but learn a huge amount from.

Since recording the pair have continued to help brands and build their consultancy! They recently launched TFB Studios, the arm of the consultancy which provides the infrastructure for brands to scale! I'm sure we'll see many independent brands reach new heights as a result of this!

Follow The fashion blueprint on instagram to learn how you can start or enhance your brand and follow Gigi and Misi to stay locked in with their TFB building journey.

For this weeks episode we were joined by Kev and Rajan, the co-founders of fashion content hub Thread Culture Blog.

If you haven't heard of the pair, you should really get to know! They create content that leverages fashion insight from your favourite fashion influencers alongside the everyday fashion enthusiast. The main way they do this is via their street interview content. Despite having only started the blog a few years ago they. have already managed to amass a following of over 100k across both Instagram and TikTok.

However their journey of course did not just start with the blog. Hailing from North West London, the pair have been friends since secondary school and have always been interested in fashion. Like many of the people you see on this podcast, they were inspired by the likes of ASAP Rocky and were fans of brands like Stussy and Supreme. This interest coupled in with a desire to make money led them to start their own clothing line - This was the actually beginning of Thread Culture Blog and the rest is history.

Given their nature of what the pair do, they've acquired a wealth of knowledge that can be beneficial to brand owners and those interested in fashion so it was this that formed the basis of the conversation. We discussed everything from what brands people on the streets are wearing the most,  why people choose to wear particular brands, what it takes to be a fashion content creator and much, much more!

The pair shared gems throughout and we had a real laugh whilst we were at it! The lads brought the energy and I'm sure this will be an enjoyable watch/listen for all of you!

Since recording the pair have continued to drop great content and we've also soon them do a couple collaborations with stores including BSTn in Brixton! I'm really enjoying watching their journey develop and I'm excited to see what their future holds. Could we see a return of the Thread Culture fashion brand... Could we see the start of a Thread Culture consultancy.... Who knows! But whatever it will be I'm sure it will be LIT so make sure you follow them up now on Instagram, TikTok and stay locked into their journey!

For this weeks episode we were joined by Botchh, the founder of London based brand GoneClub.

Born and raised by Ghanaian parents in West London, Botch has always had fashion influences around him. However it wasn't Botchh's love for fashion that lead to him starting a brand, It was in fact his desire to turn his powerful network into a business opportunity!

Fast forward from 2017 to now, Botch has built a thriving community that empowers individuals to embrace self-confidence in their own abilities which is the meaning of being 'gone'. His love for fashion and knowledge of the industry has helped him cement himself as a designer that we should all be paying attention to!

In this episode Botch takes us all the way through from the formulation of the brand till today. We discussed many things including GoneClubs rebrand, the FootAsylum deal, Botchh's personal brand and much, much more.

Botchh shares gems throughout including mistakes he's made and what he's learned from them, his approach to design/branding and interestingly his perspective on the importance of having the right mentality as a business owner.

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Botchh, his transparency, confidence and desire to help those coming after him made for a great episode!

Since recording Botchh and GoneClub have continued to flourish! They recently launched their new collection which introduced new silhouettes and imagery that represented a real evolution for the brand!

Follow Botchh now to stay Locked in to his journey with GoneClub. The only way is up! I know I'm gone are you gone too?
 

For this episode we were joined by Jay Munro,  Founder of streetwear brand Last Lesson.

Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and later emigrating to Manchester, Jay's path has taken many twist and turns which have a played a role in leading him into the fashion world. 

Jay's first love, like many young men in the UK was football, however after not receiving a professional contract from his team Jay found himself at a crossroads. It was here where 'fashion' came into the picture! Jay was picked up by a different type of scout, a modelling one and it thus his career in fashion began.  

Fast forward several years, Jay recently decided to take the leap into starting his own fashion brand as art and streetwear had always been a passion of his! Through leveraging the many things he learnt from his modelling career Jay has managed to build a thriving brand in just over a year! Having already been touted by Hypebeast as a brand to watch out for in 2024 the fast growth of Last Lesson is something I think we could all learn from because this is by no means a coincidence.

Throughout the episode Jay transparently shares what he thinks has helped the brand grow in such a rate and more importantly the potential struggles that may come with this. Despite having not been a brand owner for long, Jay's experience in the fashion world through his modelling career has enabled him to learn many things about e-commerce, branding, relationship building and so on. Being the incredible guy he is, Jay shares these gems from start to finish!

Jay has started the year the way he means to go on! He recently announced that Last Lesson will now be stocked in Harvey Nichols in Scotland! That's a huge deal especially for a brand that's less than 2 years old! 
 
Make sure you stay locked in to Jay's journey with Last Lesson! This is only just the beginning and we're super excited to see what he goes on to achieve! 

Yes we know it’s March but we still have most of the year left and we want to make sure that you spend this year locked into the best streetwear brands the country has to offer! 

As the days go by and I grow older and older I’m struggling to keep up with what’s going on in the streetwear scene! So I enlisted the help of none other than Bastin Nazário also known as cfabastin. Many of you would have seen his viral TikTok/reels series from the back end of last year where he put the people on to the streetwear brands he feels deserve a spotlight and extra recognition. 

Despite Bastin’s videos being super informative and engaging, there’s only so much information you can get across in a 1m 30s reel so I thought let’s bring him onto the platform and give him the room to really go into depth about why he chose the brands he chose! 

Watch/listen now to hear what brands Bastin is feeling the most and more importantly WHY. Bastin is a true streetwear enthusiast and journalist so his insight is one filled with gems that will really impact your approach to fashion.

Follow Bastin now to stay in the know about what's going on in the streetwear scene! 

Enjoy the episode!