“No brand can rest on it’s laurels” - Richard ‘Rich BLk’ Mkoloma

For this weeks episode we were joined by Richard Mkoloma, a designer, fashion consultant, lecturer at London College of Fashion and the list goes on! Richard has had an incredibly successful career in Fashion, working for the likes Puma, Adidas, Paul Smith, Sean John and has worked alongside renowned designers such as Hussein Chalayan and Michiko Koshino. Richards Journey has taken him all over the world from Amsterdam to New York so he had a wealth of knowledge and experience to shareWith Richard coming from a working class home in Ladbroke Grove like myself, his story was one that resonated with me and inspired me, because of this we made sure to leave no stones unturned! We discussed how Richard growing up in a place like Notting Hill influenced his journey in fashion, his experience as a black man in an institution at a time where diversity wasn’t as celebrated as it is now and how he was able to overcome the challenges he faced to stand strong in who he is and embrace is individuality. Given Richards the experience as a fashion consultant, we made sure to dive into what he believes makes a brand successful, he shared his thoughts on why he thinks sportswear brands have been able to evolve into fashion powerhouses and where he sees the future of fashion heading. Since filming Richard continues to drop game on the next gen through lecturing at LCF. He’s still an integral part of the fashion community in West London and continues to express his creativity through his spoken word pieces. Make sure to follow Richard on his instagram page and connect with him on LinkedIn to get some more game!Thank you for listening, catch the visual for the episode on our YouTube channel and make sure to follow our instagram to keep up to date with the goings on in UK fashion.