Chris Figures - The community focused designer thriving on real life connection

For this episode we were joined by Chris Kutoya founder of Hackney based brand 1Figures.

From when I became interested in fashion as a teen 1Figures was a brand I would hear about and see very often. Through iconic wears like their 'Nang girls only' hats or their 'I'm broke baby' pieces the brand quickly became one of the most culturally relevant in London. This was at a time where social media WAS NOT what we see today. Instagram wasn't a shop front, there was no tik-tok style apps for you to get a million eyes on your brand from one post. You really needed to do the work in real life, and Chris definitely did that. I know the work it's taken for Chris to get the brand to where it's at so it was an honour to finally sit down with him and talk through his journey.

Being of Congolese descent fashion and style was something Chris was naturally always interested in. Couple this in with an entrepreneurial mindset it was only a matter of time before he started his own clothing line. With Chris being so passionate about his community, he endeavoured to create a brand that represents the beauty of where he's from. This is also something I admire about the brand and another topic we spoke about in-depth.

Throughout the conversation Chris spoke candidly about the ups and the downs of running a brand and touched on pertinent topics including whether brands should have meaning, how to build a community around your brand and more. 1figures recently celebrated it's 10th anniversary so you know he had keys to share for daysssssss.

Thank you to Chris for sharing his story with us. Follow Chris and 1Figures to stay locked into his journey.