For this episode we were joined by Benjamin Kyei,  Founder of luxury streetwear brand Gosse Au Coeur!

Benjamin is somebody I've wanted on the podcast from when we first launched a few years back so I'm super happy that we were able to make it happen. His brand is a true  illustration of his refined design skills and incredible taste level so it was definitely only a matter of time before we chopped it up.

Born in East London to Ghanaian parents who quickly realised that their son was a talented artist and also very in love with fashion, Benjamin's parent encouraged him to study art at Uni however he opted to follow his love for entrepreneurship and chose to study International business instead. It is during his studies where Benjamin started his first brand code nation with two of his closest friends. Although the lads chose to fold the brand, it is here where he learned many of the skills he now uses to run his current brand Gosse Au Coeur.

Being a huge fan of the late designer Virgil Abloh, it was only a matter of time before Benjamin launched his own brand and in 2017 Gosse Au Coeur was born! Translating to Kid at Heart in French, Benjamin aims to use fashion as the conduit to tell stories from his childhood and illustrate the pure, curious and positive essence of children.

Benjamin candidly shares anecdotes of what led him to where he is now, including his many nights 'studying' the rails in Selfridges, his time interning for Oswald Boateng and more.

Throughout the conversation Benjamin shares the main reasons he decided to start a brand with such a powerful message, how he learned to design/run a brand, how he uses colour in his work despite being colour blind and much, much more.

Since recording Benjamin has continued to grow as a designer and is about to launch his new collection - 'Life is beautiful'. He recently hosted a launch event for the collection which I had the pleasure of attending, the collection is sensational, both designs/quality are 10/10.

Follow Benjamin's instagram to stay locked into his journey and take in his incredible drip. Join the Gosse Au Coeur community now! 

For this episode we were joined by Ayotunde Rufai,  Founder of Jendaya, a luxury e-commerce platform targeting African consumers while also exposing African brands to the rest of the world.

Growing up in a traditional Nigerian household,  Ayo's path was arguably chosen for him, either become a banker, doctor or lawyer, you know how it goes! Ayo chose the first of the three and worked incredibly hard to get there despite always having an eye and huge passion for fashion. Ayo did believe that a life working in banking was what he wanted but his desire to do something fashion related was something he could not run from and has ultimately led to him being at the helm of a fast growing fashion e-commerce platform who recently raised £1 million in funding!

Ayo has an extensive story to tell already as you can imagine and he candidly takes us through his whole journey all the way from budding banker to fully fledged fashion entrepreneur. He shares what went into his decision to finally leave the banking world, the transferable skills he's taken from the corporate world, why he actually started Jendaya and much more.

Throughout the conversation it is clear to see how much Ayo believes in himself and more importantly how much of a risk taker he is. This is something I hope everyone takes from this episode. If you have an idea, know that at some point you may have to make drastic changes to your life in order for you to make this idea. a reality!

Since recording Ayo has continued to grow the Jendaya e-commerce platform, adding many more luxury brands to their ever growing list alongside working on another huge brand collaboration that we'll be seeing very soon!

Follow Ayo's instagram to stay locked into his journey growing Jendaya, and follow the Jendaya brand page to keep up to date with the incredible work they're doing and unique brands they're showcasing!

As some of you may know streetwear brand Corteiz recently celebrated it's 5th birthday!! 

You're probably thinking 'wow they've achieved this much and it's only been 5 years?!?' - Yes it has only been 5 years and we thought now is the perfect time look back on what they've achieved but more importantly what we think has enabled them to reach these heights. 

In this episode I (JT) share my thoughts on the many different things I think we, particularly other brand owners can learn from their success. These include the power of personal branding, the importance of leaning into your why, thinking big and much more! 

Hope you enjoy the episode and let us know what your thoughts are on Corteiz in the comments! 

For this episode we were joined by Delores Oblitey,  Founder of Delores By Delores!

One thing about Delores, if she puts her mind to something, she's going to do it, whatever it takes! And in hearing her story in this episode you'll understand exactly why.

Growing up in a traditional Ghanaian household,  Delores was destined for a career in law despite being aware of her fashion talent and passion. In the lead up to her first year at university Delores made a decision that would alter the course of her life. 👀

Delores' bravery is typified by the many anecdotes she shares throughout the episode and you can see her bold personality shine through her designs! Delores By Delores has become known for Delores' incredible use of bright colours, something she attributes to the funky pieces she saw her dad and uncles wearing growing up. Such a unique aesthetic has led to Delores by Delores securing many notable achievements such as being twice showcased at the Black Cultural Archives and being published in the book; The Dandy Lion: The Dandy and street Style.

Throughout the conversation Delores candidly shares with us the stories that have made her the women she is today and ultimately the stories she chooses to tell through her talent and how. In doing so we learnt so much from Delores regarding how to make the most of internships, what sort of courses one should study, what luxury fashion is to her, why story telling in fashion is so important and much, much more!

Since recording Delores has continued working on her new collection! We look forward to see what story she'll be telling us this time.

Follow Delores' Instagram to stay locked in to her journey and follow the Delores by Delores page to keep an eye out for the impending collection!

So you would have recently seen that Pharrell Williams, successful artist, producer and founder of Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream was recently appointed as the Creative Director of Menswear at Luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton. Choosing who would take over from the late legend Virgil Abloh was never going to be a straightforward choice but LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault surprised everyone by choosing Pharrell rather than designers who had been touted to take over including Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner and Samuel Ross. 

Pharrell's appointment has been met with a mix of sentiments and in this episode we were joined by fashion enthusiast and Buyer at Machine-A, Michael Takkou, who candidly shared the different emotions that people within fashion are feeling towards the appointment aswell as what this may mean for the future of luxury fashion and designers. 

Listen now to get more insight into the possible ramifications of the appointment! 

For this episode we were joined by Mr Mysterious, Josh Coker, Founder of streetwear brand SWAMP. 

Josh prefers to be behind the scenes in favour of letting his designs do the talking, but thank God he made an exception for us because this episode has keys for dayssssss.

Josh is a Christian who tells uplifting biblical inspired stories through his arguably gothic presenting brand SWAMP. Sound like a bit of a juxtaposition right? It is when you take the brand off of face value, but after listening to this episode you'll definitely understand more about the brand and I'm sure you'll be endeared to it too! 

The brand name stands for Society Will Always Manipulate People, Josh shares why the brand has such a strong message and how this translates through his designs. 

Unlike many, a love for fashion wasn't Josh's reason for starting a brand, it was in fact his desire to tell stories with streetwear just being the medium he chose to do this. Josh even considers himself an author rather than a designer, so I'm sure we'll see him telling narratives in different ways in the future. Josh's interesting and often quite dark designs are inspired by things he's battled with in his life such as the fear of failure. 

Throughout the conversation Josh takes us through his whole journey so far and what has led him to the point of being ready to his currently successful brand to the greater heights he KNOWS it is destined to reach. He candidly shares the mistakes his made, the opportunities he's passed up on and most importantly what he has learned on his journey so far. 

Since recording Josh has continued to drop meaningful pieces and push the limits of design! His latest collection is dropping on the 26th of February! 

Follow Josh's Instagram to keep up to date with his personal growth alongside the growth of SWAMP. Josh has said that he's about to turn things up so let's keep an eye on him!👀

For this episode we were joined by the energetic Jay Hines. Stylist and Art Director at Osal Studio.

Despite still being at an early stage in his career, Jay has already built up a star studded portfolio, with names of A-listers spanning from the U.K, the U.S and even to China! Jaden Smith, Gunna, Mike Tyson and Barry Keoghan to name a few!

Jay's journey has not been straight forward and he candidly shares it with us in todays episode. Growing up in South London and being a talented footballer Jay's path seemed set for him but little did he know that God had his own plan! Although being a young black male in inner city London, Jay didn't let stereotypes stop him from pursuing his passions in performing arts and dance, such exposure to the arts played a huge part in Jay's fashion journey!

Throughout the episode Jay makes sure to let us know that he wouldn't be where he is if it wasn't for God and his self belief. When the going got tough, it was Jay's belief that he could achieve something bigger than what was expected of him that kept him going!

Since recording Jay has continued to style more incredible clients! His portfolio continues to span across a range of jobs including editorials, music videos and runways! You can't box him in!

Follow Jay's Instagram to keep up to date with his fast growing career! 2023 is due to be a big year for bro!! 

British streetwear had an incredible year last year! I think last year cemented the UK as the streetwear capital of the world!

But what brands did our guest Fem single out as being the best in 2022?

Fem is a content creator specialising in streetwear and gives his opinion regularly to his 50 thousand strong TikTok community! He’s becoming a really relevant voice in the British streetwear space, so hearing his opinions on the current landscape was vital and educational!

He sat down with us to discuss the brands he thinks are at the top of the game as of the end of 2022! His list looked at, designs, marketing, quality, storytelling, the lot!! This led him to choosing just 5!

Listen now to hear who he chose!

Follow Fem on both TikTok and Insta to stay up to date with his waves content!! 

For this episode we were joined by Ugo Anyamele , the founder of Streetwear brand PIECES*.

Being born in Nigeria Ugo was around expression and flamboyance from a very early age. His environment had a major influence on how he discovered his fashion talent. Whilst in year 7 in boarding school, Ugo began helping people express themselves by customising their uniforms. It is here where Ugo realised how he could use his skills to push individuality.

Ugo continued to hone his fashion skills throughout his studies and finally decided to start a brand whilst studying a finance degree at the University of Birmingham. Thus, PIECES* was born, with the name being an acronym for 'Pushing Individuality Every Chance Every Step'.

In a short space of time, Ugo has built a loyal community of supporters in Nigeria, the UK and many other regions thanks to his unique 1 of 1 designs and pertinent brand message. His collaborations with prominent Nigerian artists and brands such as Psychoyp have also helped build brand perception and make Ugo's designs more sought after than ever!

During the convo we spoke about Ugo's main motivations for starting such a brand, his creative influences, his long term vision for PIECES* and much more. Ugo also went into depth about how he markets his brand and also himself!

Since recording Ugo has continued to provide excellent bespoke to pieces to his community, the brand are also in the process of launching a new website that will have a huge impact on their customer journey and their input in the design of their piece!

Follow Ugo's instagram! he's promised to share loads of content of him creating so look out for this! Don't forget to also follow the PIECES* brand channel. 

For this episode we were joined by Romeo , the founder of Streetwear brand 'TrueVie'.

Hailing from Walthamstow, East London, Romeo has turned previous adversities in life into a desire to inspire and uplift people. After getting stabbed whilst studying Marketing at Hertfordshire University Romeo decided to try and do more with his life after realising how precious it is. Having always been someone who was interested in fashion, Romeo started the brand 'TrueVie, which translated from French to English means 'True Life' - Romeo wanted the brand to represent the reality of life and the fact that there is a lot more to it then our young inner city minds lead us to think, with the slogan for the brand being 'Dream, Discover, Explore'.

Starting off hustling out of the trunk of his car in Uni, Romeo has been able to build a brand that truly represents the many different parts of his character, which has also attracted a strong community of nearly 10,000 people! Romeo's go getting and free spirited, Congolese nature, has led to him having a community of driven people, ready to have a good time and take on whatever life throws at them!

During the convo we spoke about Romeo's early start in fashion, something which he attributes to the fact that he is a tailor! The 'Hoods Tailor' to be precise! We also discussed what Romeo thinks it takes to build a brand, including his thoughts on marketing, personal branding and much more.

Since recording Romeo has continued to work on his next collection, Where he has something big for the ladies coming!!👀

Follow Romeo's Instagram, alongside his tailoring and brand pages to see how his incredible story continues to develop!