Who I am and what I stand for
First and foremost I am a black man living in London who grew
up under the influences of reggae music which embodied a form of identity,
knowing who you are and what challenges you are facing and continually face.
Out of all of this came my creative side of me heavily
influenced particularly by my mother who in the sixties wore stylistic
clothing, and then into the late eighties when I started raving with my friends
it was all about what you were wearing, and in some cases how much you paid for
it.
In the eighties for me there was a lot of double breasted
jackets and crocodile shoes which happened to be the must have in those days. I
also had a pair of zebra skins in green leather, they were the absolute bollox.
Then came the wearing of leather & suede’s; these types of garments would
normally be worn as a matching suit, and I had it in bowls.
I always knew how to match my clothing and it gave me a kind
of lift that made me feel almost as a millionaire.
I always had at the back of my mind that fashion was always
going to be something that I would be engaged in. I noticed that particularly
at the end of the late eighties early nineties it became obvious to me that in
particular men’s boots which I always like to wear were becoming more and more
difficult for me to find something half decent to wear; because I did not want
to wear some basic and what every other Tom Dick & Harry was wearing, I
wouldn’t have minded if the style was right, but all I could ever find would either
be a basic Derby or Chelsea boot, that weren’t going to be good enough for me,
because I knew that I was better than that.
So in the early nineties when I studied footwear technology
& design I started to sketch all the designs that I wanted to wear, and
soon after graduating from college, I always knew that I wanted to start my own
fashion business, and put together my first collection of men’s boots. Later to
be followed by women’s boots.
It hasn’t been easy getting to where I am today, I have faced a lot of rejection, from not been given an opportunity for an internment at a shoe making factory to develop my skills to spending hughes amounts of money on exhibiting at fair shows and not generating any sales was to say the least demoralising and I have to admit a bit soul destroying, but nethertheless my tenacity would prevail I would not be denied, I have always believed in myself regardless as to whether nobody else does. This is what keeps me with my head held up as oppose to down. Because even when I am down I sometimes feel like I am up. Strange isn’t it?
So now the games on I have got myself out there and all I
need is customers, and strangely enough that’s where you come in, because with
people like you it makes life for me, and I dear say it a hell of a lot easier.
If you like me get frustrated when mediocre prevails
especially in fashion it can make you feel like tearing your hair out, but when
you come across a designer or brand that wants people to feel that extra bit
special then I take my hat off to them.
I remember once trying to reinvigorate the flairs in men’s
jeans and I got a lot of comments, some would say nice jeans where did you get
them from? Others would stare in a bewildering manner, and some would have
temerity to challenge me to a form of dual about my fashion sense, it was
hilarious. But what I learned from all of that is that you simply can’t please
all the people all of that the time, you win some you lose some.
