Birmingham is a creative hub and has been home to many creative ideas and individuals throughout history. This is no exception when it comes to the fashion landscape. Find out about some of the fashion businesses that were born here in the second city.
1. Gymshark
Founded by Ben Francis in 2012 in a garage in Birmingham, Gymshark is now a global name in the sportswear fashion industry. Known for its trendy athleisure wear, the brand has gained a strong following in the fitness community.
Gymshark’s head office is located just down the road In Solihull, and there are plenty of BCU graduates that have gone on to work at the company in some form or another, including Fashion Stylist, Brona.
2. Lounge Underwear
Lounge was founded by couple Mel and Dan in 2015 and specialises in comfortable but cute underwear and loungewear.
The brand is all about female empowerment and making people feel good in their own skin, stating on their website, “every woman is welcome here”.
Lounge have collaborated with our students previously, including with our Fashion Branding and Communication students on a live brief for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
3. RAID Footwear
Despite now being named RAID London, the popular footwear brand was founded in Birmingham.
Their affordable, trend-led and fashionable styles have garnered them international attention, being sold on ASOS and other major fashion retailers.
RAID state on their website that they take create footwear for individuals that “take inspiration from influencers, bloggers, reality TV and music celebrities and everything that’s hot.”.
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4. P&Co
Conceived in the historically creative Jewellery Quarter by two friends, P&Co makes high quality alternative clothing.
Of Birmingham, the P&Co founders said: “the brand has been built in a place synonymous with quality. It’s historic, hardworking & hardwearing attitude continues to fuel our passion for creating clothing that will stand the test of time.”
5. Soru Jewellery
Seen on Kate Middleton amongst other famous bods, Soru Jewellery was founded in 2013 and can be found in retailers across the world, including Harvey Nichols and Fenwick.
The two sisters who founded Soru, Francesco and Marianna, spoke about what inspires their collections: “The driving force behind Soru's designs is a love for Sicily, though our inspirations come from a variety of sources including Etruscan history, mythology, astrology, vintage glamour and the divine feminine. “
6. Hoodrich
Brummie born Jay Williams started Hoodrich with the £200 he had in his savings. He carried the brand on his own through to the success it has today, and its headquarters are still based in Birmingham within the Jewellery Quarter.
Hoodrich has since been launched in huge retailers such as JD Sports and Footasylum, and have even collaborated with the Netflix series Top Boy. They are now available in over 1000 retailers worldwide.
7. AYBL
Whilst technically not from Birmingham but just outside in Bromsgrove, AYBL was founded in a spare room by two brothers, Reiss and Kristian Edgerton.
Another sportswear brand, AYBL has had investment from Gymshark and is praised as one of the more affordable brands in this market. The brand is now worth multi-millions and boasts themselves on their website as “the UK’s fastest growing company”.