It’s a man’s world too: the male perspective on fashion

My best friend and business partner, Okemdi, and I have always had a love for fashion; however, it was only when his older sister started her own clothing line, Weruzo, that we decided to take our passion and do something with it. Our brand, Isaac Kemdi, is centred on personality and individuality. Why buy clothes that you like from other brands when you can make them yourself and tailor them to your own tastes?

Often we have to use our own money to fund our ventures, but that’s the case with any business

That being said, producing clothing on a student budget is very difficult, but it’s an experience that I’m extremely grateful for and find so rewarding. It can be frustrating at times having tons of designs and not enough money to produce them, but patience is essential in this industry, especially given that we’re only students running a small business.

Often we have had to use our own money to fund our ventures, but that’s the case with any business. We like to think of it as an investment into our future. If we’re not willing to invest in ourselves, how could we expect our friends and family to support us?

While the fashion industry is perceived to be a stereotypically female domain, nowadays I’m more inclined to see it as a field in which men and women are equally present

One thing I love in particular is the freedom of creativity. We can wake up one morning and decide that we want a particular top or hoodie and start looking at ways to create it. However, with that freedom comes restraint; what you like in the heat of the moment might not be something you like tomorrow, or it might not accurately showcase who you are and what the brand is.

While the fashion industry is perceived to be a stereotypically female domain, nowadays I’m more inclined to see it as a field in which men and women are equally present – if anything, men probably dominate the streetwear scene. The question of gender wasn’t something we considered when we started our blog; however, we quickly discovered that we couldn’t really find many blogs focused on men’s fashion other than the big ones like Hypebeast, and even those were more focused around streetwear culture as opposed to a variety of clothing styles. On the other hand, there’s GQ, but that was a little too focused on the upper echelon of fashion brands and the celebrities in that sphere. We therefore decided to combine elements of the two ends of the spectrum and found our own niche.

When we realised we’d even had views on our blog from people in different countries, it was another stepping stone and filled us with a incredible amount of confidence

Even though we were very nervous, this industry is all about boldness and expression of individuality, and if you’re afraid of what people think of you, then making a blog is going to be very difficult when you start releasing clothes.

We’re quite fortunate that we’ve received a massive amount of support from our friends at Warwick and other universities. When we realised we’d even had views on our blog from people in different countries, it was another stepping stone and filled us with an incredible amount of confidence. Ultimately, the support we’ve received has been amazing and constantly encourages us to keep going.

Tubo Adeaga