After a decade in the industry George Heaton and his brother Mike have established themselves in the luxury streetwear sector. Their brand Represent is renowned for its embodiment of refinement, effortless style and practicality. The brand which started as a university project which saw George selling his art on graphic T-shirts, has now blossomed into a renowned brand with an admirable cult following. Their mission statement is simple: “To build the best brand in the world.”
In 2012 the pair released their first product which immediately started gaining traction online, not long after that retail giant Footasylum reached out to the brothers to stock Represent in their stores and from there their B2B journey began. The brand was able to develop different designs and experiment with materials once retailers started to stock their products, eventually gaining global renown with their AW13 campaign ‘Ghost’ which was featured in both Hypebeast and Highsnobiety.
As the years went, Represent saw a steady growth show at both Paris and New York Fashion Week in 2017. Not only does the brand have a massive following,which includes Machine Gun Kelly, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and Quavo amongst many others. George himself has also become an icon, garnering a massive followership on social media for his behind the scenes content of the brands design and production processes, production, 247 workouts and sneak peaks of upcoming products.
Despite his busy schedule, George was able to answer some questions and share his journey into the industry, about the brand and inspirations behind it.
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How did the brand start, where did the journey begin?
Represent started as a college project in 2011, with just a sheet of paper and a list of names I wrote down. I always had an ambition to create my own wardrobe of clothes, because I was so particular about how things fit and felt on the body. So, combining that with my artistic background and Graphic Design college degree, the brand began.
What's it like being brothers and business partners?
Maybe the most common question but the easiest to answer, it’s great. We have the same vision, we have worked together for over a decade on the exact same project so we’re very in sync with design, detail, direction, and image. We’re both creatives with different roles that fit well together.
What challenges did you face when starting the brand up until now? and how did you overcome them?
There are challenges that arise every day. To pick out a bunch of really hard challenges, I’d say initiating the overall brand's DNA was a long and windy road. Then on a business aspect, IP challenges were definitely a rough patch in our story, but one we’re grateful for.
What has been the brand's driving force in its successes to date?
Consistency aligned with agility. The ability of speed we have is definitely a key to our current position.
Since the brand was founded what fundamental values have you kept and amplified?
We have our brand values, we stick to these when questioned, or when creating, when hiring, when developing. These values are our fundamentals to mine and Mike’s vision. They hold the structure together.
There’s 5 of these, one being simple but always in front if mind, and that is Quality.
What part of the design process is the best for you both?
I think in both instances, it’s seeing those final samples arrive when the fabric, fit, graphic and detailing all come together to create the piece that we’ve been developing.
Obviously there’s a huge build-up of nerves and a great satisfaction when product launches too, that’s always a part I love going through.
What would you say are the key things that make REPRESENT a standout brand?
I think it’s our ability to offer a full wardrobe across multiple disciplines, whilst maintaining a growing, modern and quality approach to menswear. And I cannot go without mentioning our community. This group of humans drive so much marketing through word of mouth.
What was the inspiration behind REPRESENT's latest collection?
The latest collection shown is SS24 - Currently in Paris for Men's Fashion Week. The collection embodies our inspiration of Greek mythology with a modern Britishness. A display of a pastel palette and overarching detailing through wash, stitch, and graphic design. The new Studio footwear silhouette is also on display, something that really elevates our shoe collection.
