Reside in the Kingdom is an up-and-coming label and definitely one to watch in 2013. As well as producing visually enticing pieces they engage with their audience on a visual level. The standard lookbook shots Reside in the Kingdom gives you an insight into the brand through behind the scenes images and videos. Ideas and concepts for designs come from everywhere from the music the designers are listening to, to the movies they watch with their friends. With aspirations to one day be on the catwalk and a huge amount of passion, PAUSE got to know Reside in the Kingdom a little bit better.
Tell us a bit about Reside in the Kingdom.
Well Kingdom is a clothing line I started with 2 of my friends almost 2 years ago now when I was in my first year of College. My team consists of Joshua Earle who’s the photographer and Adam Trice the Co-Creator. We basically had a simple vision of creating more than just clothes; we loved the idea of people buying into a lifestyle that’s why the brand is so visual.
Where does the name come from?
Before I started the brand I was just really starting to get into fashion and finding my own individual style but thought how we were all pretty much wearing the same clothes head to toe and there was no individuality. You get people saying how we’re all unique and I’m a firm believer of that. We’re all royalty in our own way the phrase “Reside in The Kingdom” is just to point out we should stay in our comfort zone that makes us feel like Kings and Queens.
What online channels do you currently use to promote your brand, and how do they help?
I think like pretty much everyone, I’m a twitter addict, it’s great because I can get in touch with people I probably might’ve never got to. YouTube’s great too, we just started Kingdom TV and we are now 3 episodes in. That’s one of the outlets I’m really excited about it expanding because everyone in the team is so visual and we all always knew that we were going to take that step further sooner or later.
Beanies are such a huge hit in the UK at the moment, what do you think makes them so appealable?
I love beanies! I’d say they’re so appealable simply because they look great on guys and girls so they draw in both demographics. I think that’s one thing I always like to keep in mind when designing something for a new collection as well I’d like both genders to feel comfortable wearing every specific piece and managing to put their own spin on it.
What do you think makes your brand stand out from the rest?
Me and my whole team are really proud on the fact of how visual and artistic our brand is, whether it’s creating a great concept for a lookbook or the fact of how we came up was so organic, using the little money we had to pay for the development of the brand each time.
This week is London Collections: Men. Would you like to see your designs on the catwalk one day?
Yeah most definitely that’s one of my long-term goals to see a piece I worked on finding itself onto a catwalk. For the Spring Collection what a lot of people will see is how we’ll be moving into cut and sew, meaning we’ll be adding jackets and a few other things which will show our growth.
What plans do you have for the brand in 2013?
In a nutshell I’d say just expanding it and getting more people to know about Kingdom. I feel like I’m miles away to being on my idea of being “successful” but 2013 is definitely the foundation year for the start of that, I’ve learnt so many things over the past two years when I first started so I’m just taking note of all my mistakes and accomplishments and elevating it to the next level. Specifically however I’m in the works of having a Pop-up shop somewhere in Camden or Covent Garden over the summer for a day and just selling stuff and interacting with customers. The online experience is great but I’m just really curious to see how the face to face customer experience is going to pan out.
Twitter: @KingdomReside
Interviewed by Katie Handy-Beith
