Brand To Watch: Only The Blind

Image via Publicist

COMPLEX: How did you initially start out in the clothing game?

Igor Ivanenko: I began my journey in the fashion industry in 2016. I had a few friends from university who had entered fashion after graduating and managed to build successful businesses, inspiring me to join the industry in which I had always been interested. It’s not been an easy journey, starting out in fashion without much prior experience and being up against some of the prestigious names in fashion, standing alongside them at trade shows and even pitching to the same global retailers, but getting to where we are today makes the whole journey so rewarding. 

Do you come from an artistic/design background?

No. I graduated from uni with a degree in management. I’d found the marketing and branding modules the most exciting part of my degree, combined with the business aspect of running your own business, which gave me the interest and starting blocks of running a brand. Although I’m not from an artistic background, I’ve always appreciated design and art and always give input on our collections. I feel that my business background gives me the experience of being able to run the label and grow it to the level it deserves, ensuring all processes are in place for the brand’s expansion. This is, of course, alongside our fantastic design team, who oversees most of the creative aspects of the brand.

Who is your biggest style inspiration?

I’d probably say Mike Amiri. It’s incredible to see what he’s managed to build as a brand, and I think he has such a cool style, combining sleek, sophisticated looks together with some bolder streetwear pieces.

What was the original vision for Only The Blind, and has it changed much since its first release?

Over the past few years, the brand’s vision has changed in terms of the market we’re aiming for. We wanted to transition away from an initial “Instagram streetwear” brand and towards the realm of luxury designer fashion, where the quality of everything we make is at the highest level. The fabrics we use now are much heavier and unique than in the past. We’ve also learnt that to be the level of the brand we aspire to be, it’s not just the product, but every single tiny detail that has to be at a top level and constantly surpass customer expectations. This is from the campaign photoshoots, packaging, customer service, the small details and trims to the garment itself.

We’re always evolving and maturing as a brand. As fashion and trends evolve, so does the label. In previous years, our pieces were more branded and bolder, but as Only The Blind has matured, we are now focusing on more subtle, tonal pieces of more luxurious quality. What hasn’t changed from the original vision is the focus on embroidery and brand message. There has always been a focus on embroideries and some of our most exclusive pieces are made in London, taking 8-10 hours per single piece. The original vision was also to not just create a clothing brand, but build a community of individuals with a positive outlook. This is something that hasn’t changed since our first release.

What are the main influences behind each collection, including the brand’s most recent drop?

We vary the concept of each collection we drop, exploring different themes. The new drop will be in September, our Fall/Winter 2022 collection, titled Dark Shadow. The collection presents a contemporary take on luxury streetwear, combining the brand’s trademark intricate embroideries and detailed artworks as well as elements of traditional Japanese illustrations.

The brand’s signature statement “blessed are those who have not seen, yet still believe” is a key message that is continuously seen throughout each collection. Can you explain what this means?

It’s a message that strongly characterises the brand’s ethos of pursuing what you love—no matter what. Even when the path before you is unclear, you must persevere. This is something that is all the more relevant in the current global climate, and we really want to spread this message of self-belief and positivity. Only The Blind is not just a clothing label but a message bringing together individuals and encouraging a positive outlook. We’ve built a strong global customer base and following, including celebrities, actors, musicians, athletes, and artists who love the brand and its message.

We’re constantly getting messages about the brand’s statement, and to push this message, we have the signature statement on the back of our most unique pieces, allowing customers to wear the message and spread it themselves. We’ve even received photos of a customer who tattooed the statement on his back in the font we use for our signature statement hoodies, which was really cool to see.

Whereabouts do you run the label from?

Our studio, where the team is based, is in Queen’s Park, London. We moved into this new studio about a year ago as we outgrew our old space, and it’s such a great space that gives us the freedom to create some fantastic designs.

Where do you think your brand slots in more: streetwear or designer?

It’s a hybrid of both at the moment. Still, each season, we’re working on transitioning more towards luxury designer-wear as a brand. I’d classify streetwear as T-shirts, hoodies, joggers, and designer as more luxurious products with unique silhouettes, shapes, techniques, fabrics, etc. Designer is what we’re more passionate about, thinking about every tiny detail of our pieces, and that’s where we’re heading as a brand. We will always try to create styles for both categories, however, as our customers wear our plainer styles daily, but also our heavily embroidered pieces are worn as statement pieces.

I feel like a lot of streetwear these days is moving too much in the direction of fast fashion. Label’s are looking for ways to increase their profit margins as they grow by saving costs and using cheaper fabrics or trims. We’re always doing the opposite and looking for ways to elevate our pieces, researching new materials and technologies and looking for the best manufacturers possible to achieve the quality our customers expect from the brand.

Can you break down the production process behind each collection for us?

Our design team starts each collection by researching new products, trends, silhouettes and colours for the upcoming season and putting together mood boards for the collection. I usually send references of pieces I’ve researched at this stage to the design team, whether that’s shapes, fabrics or detail. Then once we have a general overview of the styles we would like to release for the collection, we work on putting together hundreds of options of designs that we go through as a team, starting off as sketches and then presented as CAD designs digitally.

All pieces that feature our signature embroidery are hand-drawn in-house and are then perfected in the digitisation process in a way that allows us to then embroider the pieces though a technique which mimics a brush stroke. We test the embroideries for our designs in London, going through multiple revisions until they are perfected. Once designs are finalised, our manufacturers receive the designs with technical specifications and create initial samples. Once we receive samples, they go through multiple reviews, and in some cases, designs are re-sampled up to five times until the pieces, fits, and embroideries are perfected up to the high standards we require from our manufacturers.

This is one of the most rewarding parts of the process when your idea is transformed into a final physical piece, and you can hold it in your hands. Finally, once samples are approved, they’re sent off to our various manufacturers to be produced in bulk. All pieces are then quality controlled to ensure there are no defects before being shipped to our warehouse in the UK.

What has been your biggest challenge since launching Only The Blind, and how were you able to navigate through the pandemic as a business?

If you ask anyone in the fashion business, they will say how difficult it is to find a manufacturer that’s reliable, competitively priced and able to work with lower order quantities. Finding one with all three is almost impossible, so you have to decide which one you wish to sacrifice. We’ve worked with many suppliers, and it rarely goes smoothly. As we’re constantly looking to increase the quality and craftsmanship of our products, this becomes even harder to find a suitable manufacturer to work with to manufacture the products our customers expect from the brand. Thankfully, although there have been some incredibly stressful periods in the past we had to deal with, we’ve made it this far and managed to resolve any delays or issues without a massive impact on the business.

The pandemic, fortunately, didn’t have much of a negative impact on the business. Luckily, we didn’t have many retail partners we were working with at the time in 2020, so we didn’t have to manage cancelled orders from stores. Online sales actually grew throughout the period as everyone was at home online shopping. Our warehouse was also able to remain open throughout and fulfil all orders without any delays. We only really had an impact on the business from the side of delays in receiving goods from our manufacturers, as factories were shut down globally, but this wasn’t as bad as it could have been due to us receiving our newest collection just before lockdowns started happening. We also had a pop-up store booked in London for the summer of 2020, which we signed on two weeks before the pandemic. Still, luckily the landlord let us move it back by a year, and we managed to do it the following summer, and it was a huge success.