In short
Stuart Trevor (founder of AllSaints and later eponymous label Stuart Trevor) discusses launching and scaling a fashion business, using direct-to-consumer margins, creative constraints, and surviving major setbacks (name disputes and a partner funding collapse). He contrasts All Saints’ original ethos with later ownership changes, then pivots to his current mission: a “clothing brand that doesn’t produce any clothing,” remixing existing garments to reduce waste.
Guest backgrounds
Stuart Trevor is a former David Rees (Reiss) right-hand man; he joined at 18 and helped take Reiss from insolvency to about £50m over 10 years. He later founded All Saints at 28, opened stores using found/skip-sourced interiors, and sold the business in 2007. He now runs StuartTrevor.com from a Hoxton studio and speaks openly about ADHD.
Key claims
Direct sales enable higher margins without “designer prices.” All Saints succeeded by adding unique details to otherwise plain basics and by timing/market gap. He avoided taking money out while scaling. His current label is built from existing clothes, aiming to let clothing last “eight, ten generations.”
Notable examples
All Saints’ first Paris Fashion Week static show with garments pinned to nails; first shop interiors made from skip/flea items and factory sewing machines; NFL trademark concern resolved by meeting NFL Europe CEO; 1997 Hong Kong property devaluation triggering partner demands and insolvency; later buyers pushing production to China; Stuart Trevor remixing/distressing and patching garments.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOStuart Trevor's Journey to AllSaints
0:45 to 3:14
Stuart shares his early career and how he launched AllSaints.
“It was for an interview and they asked me about, you know, what inspires you to come up with All Saints or, you know, before that, Rhys and now Stuart Trevon.”
Lessons from David Rees
3:14 to 5:50
Stuart reflects on the business lessons learned from working with David Rees.
“And I ended up working with him for 10 years.”
Finding a Gap in the Market
5:50 to 11:14
Stuart discusses identifying market gaps and creating unique fashion items.
Launching AllSaints in Paris
11:14 to 14:03
Stuart recounts the launch of AllSaints at Paris Fashion Week and its early success.
“because nylon, Prada had just come out with the Prada bag.”
Creative Solutions from Constraints
14:03 to 17:04
Learn how constraints in funding led to innovative solutions in fashion.
“South Malt Street, Selfridges, Harrods, all going.”
Overcoming Setbacks in Business
17:04 to 19:12
Discover the early setbacks Stuart faced while building All Saints.
“I think it was all to do with, you know, Instagram had just come out, whatever, and people wanted to be photographed and posted.”
Navigating Financial Turmoil
19:12 to 22:19
Understand the financial challenges and decisions that shaped All Saints' future.
“I used to drive that car every day for 20 years.”
Resilience in Adversity
22:19 to 24:35
Explore the mindset that kept Stuart motivated despite severe challenges.
“So yeah, there's a lot of people don't know any of this.”
Dreams and Aspirations in Fashion
24:35 to 27:33
Hear Stuart's inspirations and aspirations in the fashion industry.
“and it would be so much easier if I didn't have to deal with this?”
Reflections on Iconic Figures
27:33 to 28:00
Delve into Stuart's admiration for iconic musicians and their influence.
“One of my best friends produced all of her albums.”
Show all 23 chapters
The Journey of AllSaints: Overcoming Setbacks
28:00 to 29:15
Learn about the challenges and triumphs faced by Stuart Trevor in building AllSaints.
“And she was, it was all a bit, those photographs, she looks wonderful.”
Growth Strategies: From Zero to Millions
29:15 to 31:04
Discover the strategies that propelled AllSaints from startup to a multi-million dollar brand.
“So I never really ever took any money out.”
The Importance of Complementary Skills in Business
31:04 to 33:18
Explore how complementary skill sets between co-founders can drive business success.
“And I'd like, there was something else, I can't remember what it was, but something else also equally boring.”
Selling the Business: Emotional and Financial Aspects
33:18 to 35:31
Understand the emotional and financial complexities of selling a successful business.
“and could see that all the things that I'd done with Rees worked.”
Reflections on Growth and Change Post-Sale
35:31 to 36:47
Hear Stuart's thoughts on the changes in AllSaints after he sold the business.
“We were producing 10 ,000 a week and selling 10 ,000 a week.”
Innovative Fashion: Creating a Brand Without Production
36:47 to 39:16
Learn about Stuart's new concept for a fashion brand focused on sustainability and creativity.
“They put a£20 million loan on the table, told me to sign it.”
Starting a Business Today vs. the 90s
39:16 to 42:03
Compare the challenges and advantages of starting a business in today's market versus the past.
“And all of them, several of them, quite a few of them, were like, why don't you do another brand?”
Innovative Marketing Strategies for Fashion
42:03 to 46:10
Learn how Stuart Trevor effectively uses targeted marketing and events to promote his brand.
The Role of ADHD in Personal and Professional Life
46:11 to 48:54
Explore how ADHD has influenced Stuart's approach to business and creativity.
“We've done a whistle-stop tour on your background.”
Sustainable Fashion and Consumer Responsibility
48:55 to 55:01
Understand the impact of fast fashion and the importance of sustainable choices in clothing.
“I mean, it sounds like there could be a mixture of different things, right?”
Lessons from Business Setbacks
55:02 to 56:00
Hear about Stuart's reflections on past mistakes and the lessons learned from them.
“They know that, you know, men would become infertile.”
Lessons from Tragedy in Business
56:00 to 57:52
Stuart shares his experiences with trust and betrayal in business.
“So what's one particular tragedy that's taught you an unforgettable lesson, Stuart?”
Finding Pride in Current Ventures
57:52 to 59:24
Stuart reflects on his current work and how it connects to his past.
“that now I actually, I'm so much prouder of what I'm doing now.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Welcome to Strategy and Tragedy, the show all about how to scale and fail in business. I'm your host, Stephanie Melodia, and my next guest needs barely any introduction. As founder of All Saints and now the eponymous label, Stuart Trevor, welcome to Strategy and Tragedy.
0:17Stuart Trevor:Hi, how are you doing? I'm very well, very well. My first question to you, I have to ask, what does Stuart Trevor think of my outfit? Oh, I love it, actually. I kind of have this... Is this actually for you? It is. I thought so when I turned up. But I kind of always had this obsession with sort of band jackets and rock and roll and leopard skin. And, you know, and you've got it all there. Yeah. Exactly. I was doing a talk the other day. It was for an interview and they asked me about, you know, what inspires you to come up with All Saints or, you know, before that, Rhys and now Stuart Trevon. and it was my teenage self because I grew up in a period the greatest years of music, rock and roll and, you know, pop music and, you know, post-punk and all the clothes that, you know, every week, you know, I had friends that were a skinhead one week and they were a new romantic about two weeks later where they'd grown their hair.
1:27Stuart Trevor:Yeah. And then they were like a soul boy a year later or whatever. Yeah. Well, I definitely, I'm glad you said teenage self because I leaned into my teenage self, had to dust out some of these items from the back of the wardrobe. I think 19-year-old Steph would be proud of what I'm wearing. I'm being sat opposite you here today. So this is an incredible pleasure, Stuart. All right. I know that you are on a mission to build the world's most sustainable fashion brand, which we're going to hear all about. But first, we need to rewind the clocks back to 1994, age just 28. You set out and launched All Saints after being David Rees' right-hand man.
2:01And that is David Rees of R-E-I-S-S, Rees Fashion Brand. What does this young fashion designer know about business?
2:10Stuart Trevor:At 28 or... Well, at 28, I'd had 10 years working for David. And actually, when I joined him, I was 18 years old. I was in the second year of a degree at Nottingham Trent. I'd just won the Smirnoff Fashion Awards. I was a finalist in a Paul Smith Montblanc competition. we just won a group of us the student menswear design awards but that's all student life and then and then I was thrown at the deep end by David Rees because he saw me on TV it was televised the Smirnoff Fashion Awards and he drove me insane he called the college the uni 14 times they made me go and see him I'd already been offered a job at Paul Smith but they made me go and see him um as you know on behalf of the college or whatever university uh in nottingham and i went down to see him and he gave me an envelope of 500 quid and a ticket to italy and he put me on the spot on the plane i agreed to go because he said to me do you know what the best thing is you don't have to tell paul smith so um which i suddenly thought i'm looking at the 500 quid i'm looking at the ticket to to italy and i'd never really been abroad before and i thought and he'd said things like, you're going to eat at the best restaurants in town, you're going to stay at the best hotel in the world, you're going to go to the number one menswear fair in the world, you're going to go to the best fabric mills in the world.
3:38Stuart Trevor:And I did. And it was an eye-opener. And I ended up working with him for 10 years. Wow. What a story. I helped him take the company from insolvency to 50 million in that 10-year period. Incredible. I just want to jump in here and just kind of underscore for viewers, like 500 quid in 1994 is the equivalent to say, well, before then, because that's when you launched All Saints. Sorry, so this is 10 years before that. It's worth about... 1984, 95. Okay. It's worth about five grand. I was going to say maybe two, three grand, but going further back, yes, five grand. So this was a real sliding doors moment for you.
4:16You could have gone on a whole different trajectory if you went and worked for Paul Smith, right?
4:21Stuart Trevor:Yeah. That's hilarious. I... Wow. I think about it often because I also, when I was at Rees, I got offered to go. Joseph was super cool back then, a really cool London label run by a guy called Joseph Etigu. He's passed away now, but they were super cool stores. They had all the, you know, rock stars and pop stars would go shopping there. They would sell all the top labels. and I was offered the job as buyer and I turned that down when I was at Rees and I have no idea now when I look at it because I had no money, no way that I had of funding All Saints at that time but I knew that if I was going to leave Rees I wanted to do it to launch my own brand and somehow I managed to persuade a factory production company to fund it and I launched it and yeah, it was...
5:24The rest is history. We're going to dive in. You mentioned you took Reece from insolvency to, sorry, what was it? 50 million. That's incredible. Obviously, even more so with All Saints. So what lessons did you take from Reece to All Saints? Like what were the, I know that you were by a fashion design, more kind of creative. Was there anything on the business side during that growth trajectory that could set you up for success with All Saints?
5:47Stuart Trevor:I think I learned from David Rees personally about, you know, drive and determination and about, you know, failure and success and about never giving up and, you know, really striving to be the best and to produce things. that was mainly me not him but producing the the best quality most amazing garments that you can for as little as possible and selling them for as much as possible so margins and you know making sure that you were earning you know the right margins on on the product and and that you went out at the right price because reese was always known and still is probably as it's not it's not designer prices it's it's affordable luxury yes it's really beautifully made or well made um now it's not not as great as it used to be when i joined it it was we did all the production virtually all of it in italy and the fabric qualities were you know the best fabric wheels in the world um and uh but but we we could afford to buy really expensive cloths because we were selling direct to the consumer we weren't you know when designers generally work they have to buy something you know buy cloth at 10 pound a meter pay 20 pound to make the garment it's 40 pound they would wholesale it for 100 pounds because they have to double up at least um and then the department stores times everything by three so something would be 300 pounds that cost about 40 pounds but whereas if you're selling it direct into your own stores or now with steward direct online to the consumer you could buy something for 40 pounds and sell it for 150 and it's not because we want it to be cheap it's because 150 quid is a lot of money i mean i to me you know 150 pounds some i've had people in the past say to me remember back in the all saints days design a friend of mine saying the only reason you are successful is because you're cheap and I was like that's nice I said well why do you think we're why do you think I'm cheap and he said well how much are your leather jackets and remember this is about 25 years ago we were 250 or 300 pounds for a leather jacket and he went see he's cheap and I said that's that's not that cheap is it he said it is to me he said my jacket's wholesale at 300 pounds I said well how many have you sold well we haven't sold any but and I'm like But£300 to me is a lot of money.
8:25Stuart Trevor:If you go to the cash point, take£300 out. If I ask you to go that and do that, can you go and do that? And he said, well, I haven't got it. I said, no, neither do I. So£300 is a lot of money. It's not cheap. For sure. It's all very subjective to one person. It could be cheap, expensive. It's all kind of to do with different sort of levels and brand positioning. But I think, yeah, there is that. But the brand position as well is, I never ever wanted to sell to rich rankers. I wanted to sell to... cool young bands or you know it needs to have that affordability yeah i always think so launching your own business at 28 years old you mentioned the drive and determination that you learned from david reese you also mentioned some of the financials so obviously you had kind of that numbers bring to it as well i want to dive into this because not only are you setting up your own company but you're also entering a highly competitive marketplace so what were some of the other kind of tailwinds that helped you make All Saints what it is today eventually?
9:24Stuart Trevor:Well it was a gap in the market. Finding what I thought was you know the gap in the market that that you know producing something that no one else was doing. I never ever understood why anybody would go and spend you know more money on a very plain t-shirt or a very plain jacket or a very plain coat or whatever so i would always add something to it and make it kind of unique um i remember actually was talking about this with someone else like like the little frogging or or metal buttons or a turned up collar or contrast you know different little bits i always would add something to it to make it kind of unique i remember people in the beginning saying to me like you know how many people how many people dressed like that I mean they used to think that All Saints was avant-garde uh why because because it's all black it's just black and gray that wasn't actually through choice that was I used to put collections together with I used to always have one color but in the beginning I started out I would have lots of color but people never bought it do you Do you remember your first collection?
10:38Stuart Trevor:Yeah. What did it look like? So the first collection, I'd done a range for Rees, which was really successful. And when I went to launch All Saints, what I used to do back in those days is I would go to vintage military warehouses that have stock of flak jackets, pea coats, bomber jackets, fatigue combat pants, you know, parkas and I got all these amazing vintage pieces and I gave them to the factory and I produced one collection of these items in nylon because nylon, Prada had just come out with the Prada bag. It was 1994. It was the hottest bag in the world. So I decided to do a whole collection in that nylon that Prada had used.
11:29Stuart Trevor:So I did parkas, bomber jackets, field jackets, peacoats, combat pants and then I did it in moleskin. like a heavy cotton, brush cotton. And it just looked incredible. And I'd done knitwear, like mohair type jumpers that are similar to, you know, the Seditionary's early punk sort of sex pistol sort of pieces. And they looked really cool. They looked really interesting. And the collection was totally unique. But it worked so well because we had the nylon and then you had the moleskin. Quick one. So sorry to interrupt. so I'm sure that you are on the edge of your seat listening to this interview.
12:07At least I hope so. I'm so aware of all the other podcasts that are already out there. So the fact that you've decided to tune in and listen to this one is not lost on me. If you can just go that one step further and hit that follow or subscribe button, doesn't cost a thing, takes two seconds. Now is your chance to do that. It means so much. Really appreciate your support. Thank you so much. Now let's get back to the interview. Amazing. So did you also launch with a physical store to begin with?
12:31Stuart Trevor:No. Okay. No, back in those days, the world was a different place. So generally what you would do is launch a collection, show it at Paris Fashion Week was the main one in order to get buyers. And I did that. It's like a static show where you turn up and you have the range of clothes. And I remember setting up on the day before the launch and I couldn't afford mannequins. I just had nails, banged some nails in the wall. And I put a hanger and I put garments with, you know, like a scarf around the neck, a peacoat, combat pants. And I put these military boots underneath. And we did like eight looks along the back wall.
13:15Stuart Trevor:And I remember at about 11 o 'clock at night, the security guard coming over and saying, right, come on, you guys. And they turned the lights out and the booted us out. And there was me and two young men over the road. And it was Dean and Dan Cato from D Squared. And they were also getting booted out because both of us. And I remember chatting to them and asking them who they were and they were Canadian. And we were saying it was the launch of D Squared and it was the launch of All Saints on the same day opposite each other. And we both said, oh, good luck tomorrow. And, you know, let's hopefully by this time tomorrow night we'll be laughing and it'll be good.
13:51Stuart Trevor:We had no idea what it was going to be like. We turned up at nine in the morning. I mean, by 11 o 'clock, it was complete chaos. We had buyers from all over the world fighting to get on the booth, giving me their card from, you know, Luisa Villaroma, Browns, South Malt Street, Selfridges, Harrods, all going. And it was because of these outfits that we'd put on the wall and because they'd stayed and done a similar sort of thing, we stood out more than... And the only two people that were busy were D Squared and All Saints. Incredible. It's how these constraints create these creative solutions, right?
14:25Maybe because you didn't have the funding. So you had to just kind of nail them to the wall. So on the financial side of things, you mentioned that getting this off the ground, you got backing from the first manufacturers. You did things on kind of a beg-borrow still on a dime, keeping it very sort of lean. Did you then seek investment to get it to the next stage to open your first store?
14:44Stuart Trevor:No, it was all organic. so and and we we so we launched it and we sold it to all of the best retailers in the world including like selfridges harrods harvey nichols saxford avenue barney's new york sebu in tokyo in hong kong lane crawford and and and and then you deliver it and then what happens when you deliver it you have to produce i think we wrote something like one and a half million in the first season. That weekend in Paris alone, we wrote over a million quid or something. But then when you deliver it, you realise that the factories have minimum quantities or the fabric mill has minimum.
15:26Stuart Trevor:And you end up with stock and then you don't know what to do with the stock. So I opened the first shop. And the first shop was all beg, borrow and steal. The fittings were things that I found in a skip or from flea markets or from charity shops and things. People used to say to me years over the years, where did you come up for the interiors for All Saints? Because no one had ever had this sort of semi-derelict looking shop with a rusty sort of rail and hooks hanging out the wall. It was all things I'd found in a skit. They looked like that because we didn't have any money. That is hilarious.
16:05Heads all the sewing machines.
16:07Stuart Trevor:The sewing machines were a factory in India that were chucking them out. and I came to inspect the factory. There was about 100 machines all piled up. The guy was really embarrassed. Oh, I'm so sorry. Please don't look at these machines. I've got all the latest Japanese machines in there. I'm like, well, what are you going to do with them? And he's going, oh, the scrapper man is coming to collect these machines. I'm like, right, I'm going to. So I shipped them back to London. And originally, I just had a void in a shop. I was opening a shop in Longacre. It was one of the last stores and it had a big void between the first floor and the basement, about a 40 foot wall.
16:46Stuart Trevor:So I just made scaffolding and put the sewing machines in a frame and we created this sort of artwork. And it became, it just became, it was. It became iconic, Stuart, is what it became. And this is such a hilarious story of how this kind of happy accident came about and fit the brand. I think it was all to do with, you know, Instagram had just come out, whatever, and people wanted to be photographed and posted. Cool backgrounds. And it looked such a cool background. That's incredible. Wow. So, so far in the story, I feel like there's been kind of a lot of tailwinds, a lot of right time, right place.
17:21It's all sounding very positive at the moment. Or at least you're kind of making, you know, lemonade from lemons with some of these situations. What was your first real setback where that drive and determination you learnt from David Rees had to come into play?
17:35Stuart Trevor:there was there's I mean yes some people say to me things oh it's all right for you you found it all safe like as if it was you know easy easy there there's trials and errors and tribulations all the way through the very beginning registering the name alone I was told that the NFL the National Football League in America would object and so I wrote a letter to them made an appointment to meet the CEO of NFL Europe, went to their offices, showed them what I was doing, and he fell in love with it and said basically, as long as you don't do American football shirts, I'm fine with it. You have my blessing.
18:18Stuart Trevor:Is that because there's a team called the Saints or something? There's a New Orleans Saints, and there's a couple of different, but they could have put the blockers on it, and a lot of people would just go, oh, well, you know, I'll have to come up with another name, but I wasn't going to take no for that. Where did the name come from then? So why were you so committed to All Saints? Well, my initials are ST, so like the Saint. And when I was about 20 years old, my grandfather passed away and left me like£5 ,000. And I went, well, basically found a car in Arizona when I went over to see my parents.
18:55Stuart Trevor:It's the car that Simon Templer, Roger Moore played this character called Simon Templer, The Saint in a TV series. It was before he became James Bond and it was a James Bond type character. And this car is unbelievably cool. And I bought that car on New Year's Eve in 1988 or nine. And I drove it to L.A. and I shipped it back to London. I used to drive that car every day for 20 years. And everybody used to go, oh, it's The Saint. It's The Saint. So when I had to come up with a pseudonym for myself, because I had a Chinese partner, I didn't want it to be my name because I, you know, didn't want to have the Chinese manufacturer owning 50 % of my name.
19:42Stuart Trevor:So I wanted a pseudonym. So I had a list of the saint, saint, Mr. Saint, and I was on All Saints Road during Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival, had a few drinks, looked up. I thought, All Saints? That sounds really cool, actually. If you were to ask, where's that jacket from? All Saints rolls off the tongue a lot easier than the saints. So I registered the name All Saints. What a cool story. I love that. So you mentioned about almost like the name not even existing as a first setback. Were there any other real knocks that you had to? In 1997, Hong Kong was handed back to China and the Chinese manufacturer, who was my partner, had never expected the business to.
20:36Stuart Trevor:We would, I think we were by that point doing four or five million turnover. And they had funded it all by loans, unbeknown to me, from property that they owned in Hong Kong. and after 97 all the property market in hong kong devalued by 50 so all of a sudden they wanted the money back and they came after me for the money they sent me 250 000 pound um management fee letters and invoices i was like what's this they're like you know you have to pay it we have to pay the bank and we're like we they could see we were just about breaking even but because we were expanded we'd opened three or four stores by then and we we didn't have 250 000 pounds to to you know hand over so they were like you know i think that six months later there was another one so we now had invoices for 500 000 and then the then the third one came out there was 750 i'm not we haven't got any money where do you think you actually are doing the accounts where they're going you're gonna have to stop paying everyone and i was like like who we were making part of production in the uk there were italian fabric mills but there were you know hmrc in the uk there were landlords and of course you can't preferentially pay any of them you can't just pay all the money to him yeah or them that's illegal so i i had to go to seek advice and they basically said the company's insolvent you're going to have to um you know you want to get rid of them anyway so so we had to um basically go and liquidate the business but i started again the following day i got a business partner in who used to run reese when i was at reese he came in put a bit of money in i had a silent partner put a bit of money in so there were when you ask for about were there any investors it was a small investment from these two people but they were one of them was you know a day-to-day running of the business working alongside me sort of thing and we took what we had and we ran with it we carried on trading under the name all saints we were convinced that the chinese were going to say well we own the name or whatever or um but they didn't and after i think a period of four or five years or maybe three i can't remember we could then claim the rights to trade under that name because we had been trading under that name and nobody had objected.
23:09Stuart Trevor:So yeah, there's a lot of people don't know any of this. This is why the show exists, right? Oh, amazing. Strategy and tragedy exclusive. You heard this here first. Well, that's, you know, hence the name of the show, right? The reality. You see the All Saints stores with all their sewing machines in the window. You say, wow, we're going to set up this fashion brand. But actually the reality is what goes behind the scenes. So I appreciate you sharing that and giving us exclusive. That really does sound like a much more existential threat to the business as opposed to, you know, some silly yanks threatening the brand name.
23:42great what did that during that moment in time again casting our mind back to this kind of late 90s period in the story like what's going through your mind like you're lying in bed at night I don't know how much sleep you're getting at this point you must be stressing how
23:56Stuart Trevor:like how do you keep going I was still quite young then I didn't really didn't overthink it no I never really I I have quite severe ADHD I think as well we're gonna come on to that too None of it is just water off a duck's back. Do you know what I mean? And also, at that period, I wasn't in it for the money. I wasn't in it for, I just wanted to create something really cool and felt like as if that was what I was born to do. So, yeah, it's just another annoying thing that you have to sort out. So the idea didn't cross your mind of packing it in and getting a job and it would be so much easier if I didn't have to deal with this?
24:41Did that not even cross your mind? No.
24:43Stuart Trevor:I used to think who would employ me. I don't know. Well, I did manage 10 years under working with David. And I'm very easy to go on with. But I don't know whether or not. Can you imagine? One of the reasons I left Rhys and started All Saints is I was sick of arguing with David because he was an older gentleman wearing, you know, very nice navy blazer, Ralph Lauren shirt and tie, chinos and Basuijian loafers. More preppy. I wanted this sort of preppy. I wanted to do this sort of rock and roll. Imagine going and working for someone else and having to argue with them every day about what I like. I always use the analogy when you start your first business.
25:30It's like leaving home for the first time. It's like once you've left home and you have to fend for yourself and eat what you want and have that freedom, how are you going to go back and live under your parents' roof again, right? So it's getting that sense from you.
25:44Stuart Trevor:After I sold All Saints, I did another brand called Bollingar Treven. And when I sold that, I had a five-year hiatus period. I started mentoring young brands that have a positive social environmental impact, including a bakery that employs victims of domestic abuse, coffee roasters that employ ex-offenders, train them to become a barista. No, it's a new ground. Oh, nice. And I was going to open up department stores with, you know, the bakery, the coffee. There was a fashion brand that buy, clear out. They asked people to clear out their wardrobe and they will sell it online. So circular fashion is called The Circle.
26:23Stuart Trevor:And there was another jeans company called Fanfare that customised vintage Levi's and remake clothes, you know, vintage secondhand clothes or somebody else's, clear out someone's wardrobe. and all of these things um i while i was doing that though as well i i applied for a couple of roles but not really i just got knew the people and i'd heard that they were looking for a creative director people used to say to me like we couldn't employ you i'm like why they're going you're like you're like david bowie or something you're like a rock god you're what would you even turn up Would you even turn up?
27:03Stuart Trevor:Of course I would. I'm honoured that you turned up for me here today. You mentioned David Bowie. I saw you saying on another show about him being one of your dream people you'd love to have dressed. Is there anyone else on your dream wish list? Elvis. Nice. Anyone still alive? Has it all been? No, no, no. I've dressed lots of them. Kate Bush. She's my, after David Bowie, Kate Bush is my second most favourite person on the planet or human being, rock star or musician talent. You met her in person? I've never met her. One of my best friends produced all of her albums. Hayden Bendel is the engineer at Abbey Road Studios.
27:49Stuart Trevor:And I met him through a friend. So I've dressed loads and loads of bands. I know lots of musicians. How have you never met Kate Bush? You can pull a few strings. she's very reclusive is she? and very insecure anxious and you know she's just a really lovely person super super talent but does that make it more attractive like the unattainability like I'm never going to be able to get given that she's so reclusive I don't know that she's reclusive she just do you know what happened with her is that she was so incredible when she came out as a young girl and very beautiful and sexy and you know Gerard Mankovic did a photo shoot with her and he persuaded her to appear in a vest.
Read the full transcript
28:33Stuart Trevor:And she was, it was all a bit, those photographs, she looks wonderful. But they're kind of like Kate Bush, it's a bit off pan. Yeah, because normally she's in these floaty dresses or whatever, really fabulous looking. After that shoot, she then got sort of typecast by the press as this sort of sex pot or whatever. And she really didn't like that. And I think... Well, how else are we supposed to understand women and what box to put them in right it's sad isn't it we're trying to go down that route um what i'm curious is we covered some of these setbacks with all saints and we will come on to your eponymous label now your mission you touched on your adhd as well i know that you speak quite openly about that so a few other topics i want to move on to but i want to wrap all saints with the growth journey because as much as you overcame these setbacks overcame these hurdles you were ultimately incredibly successful you're already turning over millions in these first few years so fact check did you get it to a point where it was turning over kind of 15 million around the time you sold it and are you able to share how much you sold the business for in 2007 i never talk about fine not really interested in money that's fine the growth levers to get one thing is going from kind of zero to one that we've covered going one to ten metaphorically and literally so even now 1 million to 10 million plus what had to change in the business and in you as a founder and a leader to get it to that next stage of growth I don't know you know I don't even I'm not it's not I'm not the best to to talk about I'm not honestly not interested in in money and I never really you know whilst I was growing the business you know i remember it i remember it when we were running it and you know that period we were roughly four million pounds but i knew five million is kind of the point where you have in back in those days that was the sort of point where you would start to make money or uh so um and then after that but i never ever stopped because what would happen was i would then find a store in leeds or manchester or nottingham or glasgow and the next thing i was i mean next thing I was doing was opening another store.
30:50Stuart Trevor:So I never really ever took any money out. Never really, I didn't really look at it as a, I never looked at the money. But did one of your partners have more of like a numbers head or a CFO, financial director, or it was just kind of taking care of itself? So the guy that joined me from Rees, one of the, I remember the very first beginnings when he said like, he said, if I join you, I'd like to be in charge of the accounts and I'd like to be in charge of the day-to-day running of the staff and the hiring and firing. And I'd like, there was something else, I can't remember what it was, but something else also equally boring.
31:24Stuart Trevor:And he said to me, and I went, absolutely, I'd be very happy for you to. Please take it away. He said about a year later, you bastard, because you knew, didn't you? You knew that he'd never really run a business before. And he was like, you knew that you'd given me all the shit jobs. Please take it away. I don't want to be in these spreadsheets. you've just reminded me of another phenomenal guest who i've had on the show so shameless self plug i'm going to promote another episode but you if you haven't already met her you two will get on like an absolute house on fire maxine laceby the co-founder of absolute collagen she has a very similar story she's also severe adhd you've got loads of successful entrepreneur loads of really creative lots of things in common and she brought in a ceo and her story is very similar which is what it just reminded me.
32:12She was like, yeah, great. Love it. I don't want to deal with any of this. So business is pretty much taking care of itself. So you're growing it and you had this offer come to you to sell the business. How did that feel? Letting go of your baby.
32:23Stuart Trevor:Can we swear in this? Yeah. Because this business partner was a Brummie. Okay. And one of the things, the funniest thing that he ever said to me was, somebody asked me, how come you two get on and work so well together? because I was obviously this looked like a fashion dude. He doesn't. And, you know, they wanted to know how. And I said, well, I do all the things that he doesn't like doing and he does all the things that I don't like doing. And he turned around and goes, since when have you been shagging my wife? Which I thought was really funny. But, yeah, that was kind of like the reason that it worked so well is that I could, you know, he didn't know nothing about fashion.
33:12Stuart Trevor:So he just allowed me to get on with it. And he'd also seen me working 10 years with David Rees and could see that all the things that I'd done with Rees worked. So as far as fashion was concerned, I have a very, very, very, I'm very fortunate. I have a talent for creativity and business. So I have a very commercial brain. So I don't just design things thinking I don't care if nobody wears it. I want to do pink underpants or whatever. You know, I always, I have a very commercial brain. And fortunately, and timing, I'm very good at timing as well. So fortunately, you know, it's worked out well along the years.
33:52Stuart Trevor:I mean, you don't always get it right all the time, but, you know, the whole idea is that you keep coming out, keep creating. I think it was Lucian Freud that said as an artist, you know, the only way to be a success is to keep producing. and the more that you produce and and and then you'll find what it is that people want and then you when you find out what people want then you hone your skills and 100 % and give that yeah this really validates so I come more from kind of that tech world and I've had a lot of tech founders on here as well and there's a lot of these kind of silicon valley based principles that you really validate here as well the complementary skill set between co-founders the test and learn and double down when something does work.
34:34So I love all of that. How did it feel letting go of your baby when the business was sold in 2007? It was kind of, a lot of people ask me that.
34:44Stuart Trevor:And I meet a lot of founders now that are running their business. And similar to me at that time, we were turning over 15 million, But I wasn't really, I think I was paying myself quite a nice sum, you know, salary then. But most of it was getting invested back because the business was growing. And you couldn't stop it from growing. It was like every week we would order, I did a leather shirt, like a rock shirt. We ordered, I think the first season, first order was 100 pieces. We sold out one day. So we ordered 500. They sold out in a weekend. We ordered 1 ,000. They sold out in a weekend. Wow.
35:24Stuart Trevor:So then we were ordered 5 ,000 of one item. It just couldn't keep up. It just couldn't keep up. And you've got to pay for them. So, you know, the business, we had a belt with Jesus loves you and All Saints rocks and all that. We were producing 10 ,000 a week and selling 10 ,000 a week. And then we had to have to produce. So you just kept going and going. But I'd never really ever had a lump sum of money. So someone came along, offered me a lump sum of money. I was also, they bought out this partner and the silent partner. They then owned majority stake in the company. So they could, they had more say in what, how we did it.
36:08Stuart Trevor:They wanted to move all the production to China. I loved working with British fabric mills, British factories, Italian fabric mills, Italian factories. we used to do about 40 % in the UK 20 % in Portugal 10 % in Italy about 10 % in India things embroidered or silk or whatever that you couldn't get make in the UK and we would do knitwear say in Hong Kong things that you, you know, really beautiful they wanted to move all the production to China and I was arguing every day and I got offered a huge amount of money and I just thought do you know what I don't know whether I can be bothered arguing with someone every single day.
36:49Stuart Trevor:And, you know, I've made a mistake. I let a wolf in the door. I don't want to work with that person. I didn't trust them. They put a£20 million loan on the table, told me to sign it. My bank manager was there. I had 10 years with this bank manager. We'd never borrowed a penny. We'd always had an overdraft facility. All the growth is organic. So from zero to 15, 16 million, there was, you know, no borrowings, no. He just looked at me and said to Stuart, I think you should get some. And this guy that was like, shut the fuck up to the bank manager. And the bank manager was like, and I just said, listen, I'm not signing this.
37:28Stuart Trevor:I didn't even have a business plan. No, I sold the business. They borrowed the 20 million. They spent it in a year. They borrowed 198 million. Yeah, I saw that. And it's kind of, that's another one. You know, when you said about sleeping at night, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Because to me, in their mind, they didn't care. If they didn't have to pay it back, they didn't care, whatever. Fortunately for them, unfortunately for them, the people that bought it from me went bust about four years later. They'd spent that 198 million. But the people that bought it from them, they bailed them out.
38:03Stuart Trevor:They run the business now. They're owned by some huge hedge fund or whatever. that you know it's another world that's not my world I don't really want to be in that world incredible completely different moral codes right it's just money how do you feel if you ever see like an all saints ad or you pass by one of the stores on the street how does it make you feel now seeing your baby I think the the most intelligent answer is at least it's not shit you don't think it's shit it's not is it it's not it's still they still talk about trying to keep the original ethos and they quite often mention of the founder Stuart Trevor yeah so they obviously it still looks similar to what I did it's moved on it's more commercial yeah do you ever pop into a shop just out of curiosity not really no not again but not really I'm not I don't I've never bought I've never bought clothes in 30 40 years I only ever buy vintage well perfect segue you've handed on a plate to me there not buying you vintage perfect opportunity for your elevator pitch on Stuart Travel the label what about a clothing brand that doesn't produce any clothing right so I am I when I was mentoring these young startup brands that the with a positive social environment impact I was taking them to investors and trying to get them funding and you know introducing the network of people that I have been introduced to, that angel investors and things, VCs.
39:38Stuart Trevor:And all of them, several of them, quite a few of them, were like, why don't you do another brand? I used to love All Saints. I used to love Reese, but they're all just mass produced. Why don't you do another brand? And I was like, the last thing the world needs is another clothing brand. And they're like, but I love what you're wearing. And I would be wearing a vintage piece. like this shirt but i would do things to it i'll turn up and show i produce things uh like i would you know like change the back on it so i would add something written and they'd be like but i love that why don't you do that and i went away and i thought about it i was like why don't we do what about a clothing brand that doesn't produce any clothing we just take clothes that already exist and and make them interesting you don't it's quite often we don't quite often we just add we have a little label a little logo that i that i have here i have the a little label here that i sign and i date and i put your name on it if you buy it um and we have a backneck steward travel label and remixing all of the clothes already exist sometimes we do a lot to funk them up sometimes we get things that are completely you know ruined like distressed denim jackets that full of holes and we patch them up with little patches that we have and and they look they look really cool amazing given your breadth of experience i have to ask you how does starting a business today compare to starting a business in the 90s it's a it's another world um what's easier and what's better what was what's harder and easier these days sorry compared to before well opening a retail store back in those days you you know with all saints back in in you know 1996 I was able to open stores slightly off pitch in little areas that other people didn't think would be um you know suitable for a retail store and that's why I did those sort of uh funfair lights with all saints you know yeah because we were slightly off pitch and you could see it down an alleyway or round the back and go over there and go and have a look at it and you know and you'd walk in this semi-derelict looking shop and find these clothes that are like wow and and it worked nowadays there was a shop near here just off of oxford circus in marketplace when i took that shop it was 60 000 pound a year which i remember thinking was a lot of money it's now that shop would be 900 000 pound a year rent and the rates are 500 000 it's a joke so everything like that forget so now you have online and you can sell direct to consumer um if you have the right marketing and you know how to do it uh you you don't have to spend loads of money because you can target where you you know pitch your brand to uh but you've got to have somebody really good at it so what's working for you these days with the new brand well we do targeted ads um but we also do like i take every opportunity that's given to me to appear on podcasts like this or uh yesterday i did a magazine that's going to go around all the all the top hotels in london and and europe an interview and a photo shoot for that um we're doing a design week in calgary next week in canada that that came about because somebody saw us doing a an event last september london fashion week with a i like to do events in our studio in hoxton shoreditch near old street roundabout we invite people to come and see what it's like behind the scenes in the fashion world so we have a photo shoot people can turn up they can try clothes on they can model for us they can get behind the camera get in front of the camera they can you know paint on clothes they can you know super interactive just just upcycle things learn how to do things bring us your old clothes bring us a wardrobe full of your old clothes and and you can either upcycle them with us or you can give them to us and we give you a credit note and you can you know buy the latest steward trevor collection or whatever uh we we love to do lots of interaction and you know meet people invite people you know we invite we had winchester no is it winchester school of business like 30 40 people came last week to meet us and and we showed them what it is that we do we've got um lots of lots of different colleges and then also we get people from companies like google and uh big corporate companies that want to talk to their staff and do events so they come to us and we you know have a glass of wine and people buy stuff and but they learn it's a mix when you walk in my studio you wouldn't believe it you'd walk in when you look and you realize that everything in there existed previously none of it is made brand new uh we you know we we we make the smallest we have some dead stock rolls of fabric that we might we've made i think in the last two years probably about 200 pieces the rest of it is all made from garments that already exist and the The whole point of it is there is enough clothing on the planet to last the next eight, ten generations.
45:00Stuart Trevor:That is crazy. We could go that long without producing another garment. So why not take things that already exist and make them cool? Because the one thing that we can't do is we can't stop people from treating themselves, from buying. We all love clothes. We all, you know, if you ask someone what do you want for your birthday or your Christmas or you've got a wedding to go to. whatever what's the first thing you think about what am I going to wear yeah 100 clothes are after food and and health the clothing industry is the second largest business in the world yeah because people when you get up in the morning you know you are what you eat you are what you wear if you wear a really interesting outfit you will lead an interesting life if you think about what you're wearing um and wear quality garments and you turn up to an interview you'll get the job If you turn up looking like a slob or whatever, you won't get the job.
45:54So, you know, clothing is important. 100%.
45:57Stuart Trevor:And we're not going to stop people from buying clothes. So what we do is we offer an alternative that's guilt-free. So people can come and treat themselves. So people can come and visit your Hoxton studio. They can shop online. So plug. StuartTrevor.com. Fantastic. They can follow us on Instagram. Stuart Trevor official. Nice. We've done a whistle-stop tour on your background. All Saints. we managed to make sure that we plug Stuart Trevor, the brand I want to make sure that we cover you quite openly speak about ADHD you mentioned that earlier in the interview if you're happy to expand on that, we'd love to hear more about the diagnosis and how that has helped you to be better in business I've not actually had a diagnosis well I went to a doctor my daughter asked me to take her to a doctor because she's a fabulous superstar my middle daughter fabulous superstar high achiever but she was concerned because she couldn't understand why she can't concentrate on things why she you know gets excited about something and like so excited and then when she gets there she's kind of like onto the next thing and it's all the hallmarks of adx she thought she was you know going mad or whatever so she asked to go to a doctor's we took to the doctor and they give you a list of things that you fill out and it asks you questions like do you find it difficult to concentrate on something that you're not interested in and the questions are never sometimes all of the time absolutely all of the time and every single question i was like well it's absolutely all of the time every single time yeah and the doctor laughed and said well mr trell i think you might have adhd yourself and i'm a way one could you know and he went if you're absolutely 100 all of the time to every one of those questions then you should maybe so do you need to do you take anything for it or no no i would never take any medicine for it anyway i don't think i need to i think it's a superpower to be honest it's what made me able to challenge tutors when i was at university they they tried to when i was doing the paul smith mont blanc competition they tried to um kick out one of my outfits i paul smith was walking through the the paul can i just show you these What do you think?
48:13Stuart Trevor:He's like, well, they look amazing. Actually, that's how I got the job offer from him to come and intern for him over the summer. He just jumped on him. And I said to the tutor, because the tutor was furious because they were out. And I used to think, where did I get the balls to do that from? It was ADHD. I didn't see any barrier. I'm like, well, who the hell is she to tell me that I can't? And I got through to the final. And it was all the way through my life arguing with David Rees, the owner of the business, about there's absolutely no way I'm not doing that or whatever, you know. And it's all to do with the ADHD.
48:53Do you ascribe ADHD as the cause to all of this? I mean, it sounds like there could be a mixture of different things, right? Just ballsy-ness and bravery and ambition and creativity.
49:07Stuart Trevor:I don't know. I think the ADHD is the thing that's given me the ability to not find fear in anything as well. That's what Maxine said as well. Sorry, that was exactly her words. She said, I just don't fear fear. Someone said to me recently, a guy that got involved with when I started Stuart Trevor, who had been a very, very successful founder, the founder of Leon, John Vincent, a good friend of mine, who has severe ADHD. He said to me one day, he goes, you have no fear, do you? And I said, what do you mean? He goes, well, most founders have this fear. They have a founder's fear. Like he goes, you just wake up in the morning and just get on with it, don't you?
49:51Stuart Trevor:And I'm like, John, I wake up every morning thinking, what the hell am I doing? But I get out of bed and do it. Anyway. And it is fascinating. But there isn't a, yeah, because I think you have to be a bit, you have to be slightly insane to to to give up an amazing job an amazing career somewhere that's really well paid to go and do you know because quite often founders and entrepreneurs it's not most i mean a lot of them are just driven by the the hope that they're going to earn loads and loads of money but it was never that with me and it's not that with everyone i think a lot of people they just i think they would regret not taking that step and and you don't you know as i'm saying it's not always been a success i've had i've managed businesses through um distress uh i've gone years without paying myself a penny and and still get out of bed every single morning and get there and try and you know fix it and and a lot of that as i i don't know i don't know whether it's ADHD.
50:54Stuart Trevor:I just, but I know I've definitely got it because otherwise. You just know that you're that way. That's incredible. Amazing. Such a superpower. I love that. Stuart, my penultimate question before I wrap with my traditional closing question on this show is what's something no other interviewer has asked you? Because I know that I've touched on a few things. You said yourself, you get asked a lot of the same questions. What does no one else ask you about that you'd love to share on the show right now? The whole thing about what I'm doing is not just about trying to build this huge business and trying to fleece people for money and sell them clothes.
51:25Stuart Trevor:I really do want people to start thinking about what they buy and what they purchase and stop buying. I mean, to me, when I go into Selfridges or Zara or Primark or H &M, I see racks and racks of clothes. It actually makes me feel physically ill thinking about how much clothes there already is on the planet. I was in Ghana two months ago and there are mountains of clothes. there are container load container ships with a thousand containers full of clothes that people have bought and then don't know there's a hundred million Zara items on Vintage right now people don't know what to do with stop buying all that crap stop buying all the super brands it's not just fast fashion, it's super brands as well, clear out your wardrobe go and meet up with your best mate and spend a day swapping clothes with each other young kids go to their mums my son's grandfather passed away recently he went and cleared out his wardrobe got all these old Savile Row suits he puts all these like sex pistols and adamant buttons and badges on them safety pins, he now has these semi-classic tweed suits on a really young cool looking kid and he looks great, he doesn't look my daughter said to me why don't you dress like Louis, my son I'm like, I'd look like I'd look like his granddad if I wore it because I'm, you know, a bit older, but it looks really cool on a young kid.
52:55Stuart Trevor:So start thinking about that and customizing clothes and, you know, putting little badges on or little bits of, you know, buttons or whatever. And I really would love it if people would bring me, if they've got wardrobe full of clothes they don't know what to do with. I have already had several people come to me with two, three suitcases and say, just I just can you take this and do something really cool with it? And I was like, what do you want? And they're like, I don't want anything. I just the the relief that I have from offloading all of this stuff, because I don't know. I've had it for years.
53:31Stuart Trevor:I don't know what to do. I'm never going to wear it again. And if you could do something really cool with it, then then I would love that. I'd love to see it. And so I was like, well, I offered them, you know, you take whatever, you know, let me know what you want in here. I'd love that parka. And this guy went over and put on a parka. He said, I would love one of those shirts with all the beads on the back, the sequins for my wife. So and he swapped that. I would love people to do that. Clear out their wardrobes, bring their stuff to us and we'll give you a gift voucher or whatever or come and spend the day with us and upcycle your stuff or whatever.
54:08Stuart Trevor:Love that. And create something magical out of something that already exists. Because you know what? We were kids. When I was young, we had things that we loved. We had favourite items. I used to remember thinking on a Saturday, like, you know, I can't wait till Saturday. I can wear my favourite jacket or my favourite sweatshirt or whatever. And people don't have that anymore, do they? The rise of fast fashion and all that. People, I mean, people have a lot more nowadays than we did when we were young. I'm not going to go, oh, woe is me when we were kids or whatever. it's just another world now isn't it but people people don't need as much and we're all being brainwashed into buying things that we don't need because every single we go on social media and every second post is an advert and you oh god look at that and you next thing you know you're buying a jumper you can't even fit it in your wardrobe you've got nowhere to put it yeah stop buying crap and and buy from sustainable brands and only if you want to treat yourself buy from somebody that's making clothes out of clothes that already exist or or the most natural fibers you know polyester i can't stand it all these sportswear companies you know our skin is the largest organ on our body and every single pore breathes and people wear polyester track suits and football shirts and you know and and it's it's actually it's like wearing a plastic bag yeah and you You would never wear polyester knickers, would you?
55:34Stuart Trevor:Polyester pants. No one would. They know that, you know, men would become infertile. Women would be, you know, it's why would you wear polyester dresses or polyester blouses or? Stuart, lovely mission. Definitely very much needed in today's day and age. And your passion absolutely shines through. So all the more reason to have you on the show and and spread the good word. My final traditional closing question on the show, which I ask all my guests, the title is strategy and tragedy. So what's one particular tragedy that's taught you an unforgettable lesson, Stuart? I think I don't have any regrets, but but I do.
56:12Stuart Trevor:Obviously, the guy that bought All Saints from me, I should never have let him in the door. I was I didn't even need him. I didn't you know, my business was going incredibly well. I persuaded two partners that I'd been working with to sell to him. I mean, once he had majority share, I should just be very, very careful because there's some horrible people out there. What were some red flags? Looking back, you know, hindsight's a wonderful thing. Are there any red flags that you now know, you know, kind of warning others? It's very difficult because the ADHD thing as well. I'm a very trusting person.
56:46Stuart Trevor:I say what I, I do what I say and I say what I do. I never lie. That's 100 percent an obsession with me that you're very honest about and everything. And that, again, is empathy. It's all to do with ADHD. There are people out there, and I don't want to say don't trust people, because that's a shame, but you have to be careful because there are people out there that have, they see what you've got and they, you know, I think it goes back to the, I don't believe in the Bible and all that, but the Ten Commandments. There are people that covet what successful people have. I mean, I remember years people saying things, you know, you'll never be Mr.
57:29Stuart Trevor:All Saints and all that. Look at him and look at you and all this stuff. And that drove this guy so insanely jealous that he decided to completely fuck me over and take over the business. And it was a hostile takeover. I never wanted to sell All Saints. I would still be running it to this day. But anyway, life moves on and you, you know, you fall off a horse and you get back on it and you gallop off into the sunset. that now I actually, I'm so much prouder of what I'm doing now. Really actually believe for the first, people used to say to me as well, God, you're the coolest guy I've ever met. Rhys, All Saints, Bolingaro Trevor.
58:03Stuart Trevor:Now, I never, ever thought I was cool, ever. But actually quite now, I actually start to look at what I'm doing. I'm thinking, actually, this is really cool. This is cool. Because we're taking things that already exist and just making them that bit better. Actually having this positive impact. It has a really positive social environment. Feeding more into your legacy as well, right? You've had this kind of this, you know, we talked a little bit before about the sliding doors and almost going and working for Paul Smith earlier in your journey and all of these other crossroad moments that you've had.
58:33And we can't A, B test it. You go down that road and, you know, we don't question what if. But it has led you to an even better position now.
58:41Stuart Trevor:Yeah, I feel really happy. It's kind of funny to laugh about it now because I, as a young kid in Dundee at eight, nine, ten years old, I discovered David Bowie and I asked my mum, who's David Bowie, little Scottish? And I saw him on top of the pops and the only things that we used to get back then were hand-me-down clothes. And I used to take them out and get my, my mother taught me to sew so I could make like a man's trouser or a kid's trouser with pleats in it like David Bowie. I'm gone a full circle now I'm taking like clothes out of a suitcase customising them and creating like outfits so it's kind of it's kind of lovely sweet and it's fun Well lovely note to end this on as well Stuart thank you so much for being such an incredible guest on Strategy and Tragedy it's been a genuine pleasure hearing some of these stories and I feel like I'm right there with you in the 90s 80s during all these moments so that was a fun period appreciate it let's have some more fun yeah amazing and thank you so much for listening if you enjoyed this then you know what to do please hit that follow and subscribe button wherever you're listening to this episodes are weekly so i look forward to seeing you next time thanks a lot
From the publisher
Stuart Trevor is the founder of AllSaints, the high street brand he launched in 1994 and scaled to £15M turnover business & household brand name.
Now, the fashion entrepreneur is on a mission to create the world’s most sustainable fashion brand, clothing brand that doesn't produce any clothes.
Discover more here: https://stuarttrevor.com/
In this interview, Steph and Stuart cover:
🖤 His journey from fashion student to AllSaints founder
🖤 How creative constraints led to an *iconic* brand identity
🖤 Organic growth without traditional investment
🖤 Surviving a near-fatal business crisis
🖤 ADHD as an entrepreneurial superpower
🖤 Stuart's mission now for sustainable fashion - building "the world's most sustainable fashion brand that doesn't produce any clothes"
Get involved in the conversation. What resonated most with you from this interview? What did you learn? What made you go, huh, I never thought about it like that? We want to hear from you!
🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/
🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517
🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!