The future is definitely female. This Brand on the block episode I sat down with Cherise Trimingham a designer and the brand owner of a luxury menswear brand Trimingham. Honestly, when I went to do this interview I was really expecting an Italian man in a long trench coat, but I was shocked when I was greeted by a beautiful black young lady. I learn a lot from doing this interview, this one really had an impact on me and it made me come to the realisation that everything and I mean everything is possible.

Anyway, let us jump straight into the interview!

Describe your brand in one sentence 

” A luxury sportswear brand that enables you to feel empowered on both the inside and out.”

Tell us the meaning and reason behind the name of your brand

” The brand is called Trimingham because it is my last name, and I believe when you have your name on the brand, you take it more seriously and people take you more seriously too. So if the brand is bad it will have a bad reflection on you, so you essentially make sure everything produced is at a good standard.”

Who is your main inspiration? 

” My main inspiration is Dapper Dan, who is an old-school designer from Harlem who used to make clothes for celebrities and VIP clients in his small shop and is now collaborating with Gucci, so he now makes Gucci’s made to order and bespoke range”

How long have you been designing?

” So I started my first ever velvet collection in college, which is about 3 years ago. I rebranded about a year and a half ago and launched my website just over a year ago. The rebranding was very important because it enabled people to take the brand more serious and it gave me structure. So now I have systems in place for designing, producing and promotion.

Describe your design process

” This changes every season. So I tend to use a muse for each collection, so this one person I design the whole collection around them. Once I have that person in mind, I start digging and researching about their life; their dislikes, likes, habits and most importantly what they like to wear, their favourite brand and where they like to shop. Then next I pick a theme. So my latest collection was inspired by GUAPDAD 400  who is an internet sensation from America who sleeps and breaths durags. So from this, I built a whole collection around it and even produced my own durags which had tracksuits to match.

What do you think the hardest thing is in regards to being a designer?

” I would say it is the whole promotion side because I don’t have a marketing background, I just love to do the designing and the constructing. It hasn’t been a huge struggle but if I had the marketing background things will probably be different.”

5 top tips for someone who wants to build their own brand!

1.  Know your customer! You have to have a specific customer in mind.
2. Research Research Research! Doing a short course in fashion can help too.
3. Keep your tunnel vision, the fashion industry is very competitive so you need to keep your focus on what you are doing. You just have to believe in yourself and know your work is good.
4. Try and do as many collaborations that you can, because this will help you in the long run.
5. Go with the flow, the best thing to do is jump and the net will surely appear. Don’t be scared to start things.

As a female in a male-dominated industry, how does it feel?

” To be honest, it actually feels really good, I don’t really feel intimated because I grew up around a lot of males, so I am very used to the environment. I saw the gap in the market and discovered men do not have as many options as females, and now men are starting to come out of their shell and experiment with their clothes.”

What is your dream collaboration? 

” Gucci 100%! For me, it is just the feeling you get when you wear Gucci, it has always been my favourite brand and main inspiration. Wearing Gucci just makes you feel empowered and good and that’s the type of feeling I want people to have when wearing my brand. An ultimate collaboration would be Moncler, I absolutely love what they are doing with outerwear.

Where do you see yourself in the next 2 years? 

” In the next two years, I want to have definitely done another fashion show, a stronger client base with more VIP clients and essentially just building the brand.”

What should we expect from you next?

” You shouldn’t expect any female wear anytime soon because I don’t have a strong passion for it. I will definitely say you should look out for the next show and the release of our new garments so just watch the Instagram scene.”

How can we find you?

Website: www.Trimingham.store

Instagram: @Trimingham__

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