The city’s fame for fashion has seen a boom over the last decade with the likes of Adanola, JD Sports and Represent being born on the streets of Greater Manchester. And the budding Manchester brands building a rep for the garms doesn’t stop there, here are some of the best currently making noise in the city.
Native Youth
Winning the title of Young Fashion Brand of the Year back in 2017, ‘Native Youth’ first began as a menswear brand back in 2012. Creator, Ash Kumar, previously stated that “fashion is in [his] blood”, he launched a women’s collection three years later.
The brand, best described as sustainable fashion, thanks to a focus on creating clothing that is good for the people, and ultimately good for the planet. Stocked at Joy, which can be found on St Mary’s Gate, the brand is also active online, particularly on its Insta, @native_youth
Drama Call
Founded in 2017 by owner Charlie Bows, ‘Drama Call’ is an online store which can only be accessed via passwords commonly shared with followers on its private Instagram page – @dramacall. It supplies fans with relaxed fitting street wear, usually with ‘Drama’ written on in bold.
Its popularity began to soar after dropping donation pieces and raising money for causes such as Black Lives Matter, helping to rebuild black owned businesses affected during protests.
Alongside this, rapper, Aitch, collabed with the brand in 2020. This is when the brand became known UK wide. Despite this, Charlie never forgets his Mancunian roots, making sure his fits and advertising tie back to the city. He’s gone as far as to team up with Manchester United and Adidas, creating a one-of-a-kind footie shirt.
Bond Fashion
Ran by two impressive sisters, ‘Bond’ is a boutique fashion brand for women. The store offers affordable alternative to luxe fashion brands thank to their ‘everyday wear’ for all ages. The store has stylists on hand to help customers who want some style advice. Don’t want to head in-store you can browse Bond online here: www.bondfashion.com
Bound
Dedicated to “bridging a gap between streetwear and contemporary wear”, Bound’s fits are focused on designs that creator, Jake, would wear himself. The brand celebrates its sustainability credentials, incorporating recycled yarns into its fabrics. Since the launch in 2018, the brand now ships orders to an international fan base, all the while maintaining its Mancunian roots.
UN:IK
UN:IK began by solely creating unisex clothing, and has since become home to collabs with other up and coming brands and designers. Clothes from its own line come up at a steal compared to high street retailers, and they’ve collabed with a number of other Manchester brands including Club De Padel and Shindigger. The collection doesn’t stop at clothing either, there’s a jewellery line, prints, rugs and cases with quirky sketches on. They’re definitely one to check out, find them at: www.unikclothing.co.uk