STREET SMARTS - BERRIS IS MEDWAY'S NEWEST FASHION BRAND
Medway start-up fashion brand Berris looks to add a classy feel to modern streetwear
‘Yeah man, it’s the berries!’ Based on a 1930s slang term for something that’s good, Medway-based brand Berris (@berrisofficial) is looking to build a fashion label that fits very well with this corner of the country.
“I was forever researching,” explains founder Ryan Hooker. “There was this term that came up that I eventually looked into. It came from this person going fruit-picking when they were a child. It kind of reminded them of happy, fond memories. So when they saw something that was aesthetically pleasing, or, you know, if someone was good-looking, they would say ‘it’s the berries’. A quick trademark search resulted in the dropping of the ‘e’, and the journey had a name.
As a youngster, Ryan was good at only two things, art and football, and having left education to pursue his dream at various high-level football clubs he decided to leave the game and rediscover his passion for design.
“It has always kind of been in me to just want to create,” he says. “When I was younger, I used to stay quite a lot at my nan’s house on Friday nights. And instead of being on the PlayStation, because I’m not into that whatsoever, it’s always been notepad and pens. I used to design football kits and pin them to the walls of my nan’s house.
“I was always interested in design or even just clothing. I remember quite vividly the new Mission Impossible film coming out and the character Ethan Hunt always used to wear blue and blue. So even when I was a kid I always used to ask my mum if I could wear blue and blue.”
““Our tagline is Born Yesterday. It’s always with yesterday in mind but in today’s format””
When Nan brought a few of Ryan’s old drawings back out during Covid, he was re-inspired to get back to the notepad.
“I just started doodling out of curiosity, really, but when lockdown lasted a little bit longer than what I originally thought… I just started designing and looking into names.”
STREET SMARTS
Despite it being his first foray into the fashion world, Ryan already had an idea of what he wanted Berris to become. Contacting a ream of manufacturers to help him create an authentic and original look, buying ‘off the rack’ was off the cards.
“I always felt I wanted to actually make something that was my own rather than just maybe putting my logo on something. I mean, I have no background in pattern-cutting, sizing or anything like that. So it is purely just me, sitting in my bedroom sizing with a little tape measure: the neck, the collar, everything. It took me about two years to get the right manufacturer and to build up that relationship and to make what I actually wanted, even to the point of, you know, if I want something a centimetre longer, it can happen.”
There is very much a ‘balancing business and pleasure’ feel about the brand. For example, the Overton Trouser has a functional style in mind. A straight leg, almost suit-style flowing fit, complete with an asymmetrical cargo pocket and topped with a smart-tie waistband (which includes hidden drawstring and fasteners for that sporty feel). It toes this line perfectly.
Describing his own fashion sense as somewhat mix-and-match at times, Berris is a reflection of what Ryan likes.
“In a way I kind of like the fact that it’s, it’s kind of questionable. Is it smart? Is it streetwear? I pay attention to brands but sometimes to the people that are behind the brands. You see this rise of almost traditional streetwear.
“Our tagline is Born Yesterday. It’s always with yesterday in mind but in today’s format. In five years’ time, Berris will probably look way different to what it is now. But it will still have that, you know, that core belief with what was yesterday.
“I’d almost class it as classy streetwear.”
The first release of the AUT/WIN 2022 collection and the accompanying lookbook is something that first drew us to the Berris brand, and something Ryan created from scratch with his own initiative and ideas.
“I feel like after a few years I just kind of built this understanding of what things should look like, the layouts and stuff like that,” he explains. “I have no training in photography, I have no training in anything really. It’s purely just the love of wanting to do it.”
Shooting the first range in a studio in Maidstone, with his second shoot using the gym at his old school, Ryan is keen for Berris to retain a friendly and local feel, for now.
“I wanted to keep the family presence around - I used all my friends in the shots, or people I know who have a bit of a style that maybe represent it quite well.
“I want to keep my brand with a story, with an image that people can buy into, rather than just a product.”
