IF you’re still wearing the ‘baggy’ look favoured by today’s breed of rappers – stop.
That’s the advice handed out by King’s Cross design duo Giaroye and judging by their clientele, they’ve got their finger on the pulse.
Gia Rahman and Oliver Roye, who are both 26 and from Gray’s Inn Road, set up a clothing label two years ago and have been slugging it out ever since at their Stratford studio where they design and make their clothes, which they describe as a “sporty tailored” look. And they say it’s no longer about ultra skinny female models or jeans you could lose your way in.
The designers predict big changes for fashion.
Gia says: “Being British means we’re more about tailoring than the American baggy look – fashion here is amazing, I think it’s even better than the States.”
And they also had words of criticism for the models of today. “We’re not feeling the skinny models you get now, we’re definitely ‘old skool’. Our ideal models would be the 1990s supermodels Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen – they had sexy figures,” says Roye.
The pair ploughed in £1,000 of their own money into the label. Gia still works part-time at Selfridges to keep the company funded, while Roye works full-time on the designs.
Gia has also been having a word in the ear of the people that matter at the famous super-brand store, with the aim of getting their line stocked.
He says: “I’ve spoken to the buyers at Selfridges and, fingers crossed, hopefully things will work out.”
But despite the lack of high street exposure, their clothes have been spotted by perhaps one of the most fashion conscious groups of people in the country – the professional footballer.
Marlon Harewood, a West Ham player and boyhood friend of Gia’s from their time together as pupils at Chalk Farm’s Haverstock School, predicts a bright future for the label. Harewood, from Gospel Oak’s Grafton Road, who was having a ‘block’ made for him – so “he can buy our stuff forever” according to Gia – said: “Their label is very ‘in’- it will take off once people know about it.”
And at a recent fitting he brought along three team mates, West Ham’s captain Nigel Reo-Coker and England international Rio Ferdinand’s younger brothers Anton and Max Ferdinand.
Growing up in Camden didn’t make for an easy road into fashion, say the pair: “It’s hard where we’re coming from, where there is no-one to mentor us, or even anyone we’ve heard of. Our parents certainly didn’t talk to us about fashion, and our mates were all into football,” says Gia.
But they are hoping to bring about a change in the Camden fashion scene, an area best known for grunge, punk and goth. Gia recalls the first time he saw a stranger in one of their t-shirts. “Two months ago on the bus this girl had our top on and I didn’t know her. It was an achievement to see someone wearing something I’d made,” he says.
So what’s next for the hard-working pair? “We’re looking forward to designing for women – their bodies are more flowing with less boundaries.”
Describing the men they design for Roye says: “We’re trying to get people who don’t follow fashion but are interested in clothes,” while Gia added he was an example of the man they are targeting. “I’m not a trendy guy but I’m a guy who enjoys fashion,” he says.
Contact Giaroye on info@gr-london.com or check out their wares at www.giaroye.com. They also sell at People Unknown in Berwick Street in Soho.
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