Company Name: Virtus Clothing
Interview Contact Name and Job Title: Temi Olugbenga (Founder and CEO) & Martin Mekushin (Head Designer)
Website URL: http://www.VirtusEstStylus.com
Social Media Links:
Facebook: Virtus Clothing
Twitter: @VirtusEstStylus
Instagram: @VirtusEstStylus
Number of outlets: 0 (Not counting the website)
Location(s): Newcastle
Market(s): Fashion (Streetwear)
Other relevant info: We started in October of 2015.
Modern Retail talks to Temi Olugbenga & Martin Mekushin, owner and designer of clothing brand Virtus Clothing, a brand taking urban streetwear to a whole new level by showcasing illustrative and thought-provoking designs.
MR: How do you aim to stand out as a brand?
Temi Olugbenga: We aim to stand out as a brand through our expressive graphic designers and unusual colours. As our team all come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds it is easier for us to stand out as we pool our experiences and come up with designs that reflect our outlook on the world. I think because of this we have found our image quite quickly and know who we are as a company and this is the image that we aim to keep strong so that we can remain an outstanding, thought-provoking brand.
MR: Why should people shop with you?
Martin Mekushin: People should shop with us to join an ideology, a way of thinking that expresses one’s true self. We strive to stay true to our own way of seeing the world and deliver pieces that reflect that correctly. Our customers share our vision, but also to support this strong belief in individualism. Above all though – cop if you feel it.
MR: What do you want to do differently to your competitors?
Martin Mekushin: We want to keep creating pieces that have their own narrative, hence our dependance on graphics. But also, while keeping true to our style, we want to collaborate and grow with different people in different industries and cultures. Blending the inspirations and influences that have come from these experiences in each unique garment is how we stand out from the competition.
MR: What challenges do you face as a business, and how do you aim to overcome them?
Temi Olugbenga: I think the biggest challenge we face as a new, growing business is promotion as the fashion market. It’s pretty saturated. It can sometimes be quite hard to get noticed and to get the attention that you would like. However we have started working on ways to overcome this and have taken interest in doing more clothes show across the country (we recently did one called WornOut in Manchester). We also planning on doing pop up stores across the country as well. I think for any business (more so for one of an e-commerce nature) it is important to interact with customers and get real human interaction as this breeds a certain level of loyalty for the customer and lead to greater word of mouth promotion which in my opinion is by far the best way to promote any company.
MR: What do you love about your work/business/brand?
Temi Olugbenga: There is so much to love about Virtus Clothing but I think the 2 things I love the most are the freedom of running your own company and the everyday challenges that come with doing that. The second think I love about the brand is the people I work with, I have a fantastic team around me and the brand wouldn’t be where it is now without them.
