Bex Koppit, (top right), Designer at The Ragged Priest
“The Ragged Priest was born in Essex five years ago. It started out as an eBay vintage store. I studied both womenswear and marketing, but my role at The Ragged Priest was a big bunch of fluke – a lot of luck but predominantly a lot of blood, sweat and tears! But not just by me… We have a very close family here at Ragged.”
“We are all very proud to be from Essex – and especially Southend – and pride ourselves on being a home grown, Essex born and bred company. It’s a very creative place, with a lot of different scenes AND we are by the sea!”
“I think there’s TOWIE chicks in every county, not just here, but being from Essex you harden up to the stereotype pretty quickly and even start enjoying it! We work our butts off to keep everthing as local as possible. Everything is made by our Ragged army in our HQ and I think that definitely sets us apart from other companies.”
“Style is very personal and you need to feel comfortable. Always wear what feels right for you. Failing that, wear our studded shorts with a beaten up t-shirt and OWN IT! We have lots of celebrities like Rihanna and Jessie J in our designs. It’s great to see celebrities supporting the brand but I get more of a kick from people wearing our stuff in everyday life. They have their own sense of style and that is way more fun.”
“Inspiration can come from anywhere. We recently got back from a trip to Berlin and it has got to be up there with one of the coolest cities! I also lived in New York for a while and I love it there. Punk store Search and Destroy is one of my all time favourites. I am massively influenced by street wear and am an avid people watcher… Is that creepy?”
“Music-wise we are an eclectic bunch ranging from the Misfits to Elton John, Azelia Banks to Joni Mitchell and Wu-Tang Clan. There’s a club in Dalston, London, called Alibi which is pretty solid for a good night out.”
“We don’t do trends as such, we do street cluture. We see the collections as our babies! For the new season ‘Stargazer’ is our printed tye dye hip hop girl who listens to Dr. Dre and parties with Azelia Banks. ‘Jarhead’ is our military grunge kids who scribble in their diaries and rock out to Daisy Chainsaw. Then we have ‘Bond-age’, our new baby, for those Fifty Shades of Grey addicts!”
“Autumn/Winter 2012 has taken a slightly darker look to our previous collections. Try pairing it with some grungy florals. For instance, our Bulldog crop T (above left) over a 90’s floral dress. Think Drew Barrymore in Poison Ivy.”
“What’s next for Ragged? We just try to take each day as it comes and enjoy the ride!”
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