UK-based fashion label FFITH has rapidly grown in visibility this past year since its plosive launch. The women’s contemporary streetwear brand launched its first collection in January featuring an array of catsuits, charcoal sweats, tops, and stacked jeans amongst other items. With a major emphasis on high-quality fabric and form-fitting material, FFITH further laminates the ethos of for women, by women.
“It’s for the boss, independent women who work hard, make their money, and enjoy life,” founder Katie Griffith shares with us. “I think it’s important we have our own female-focused brands and take up space within the streetwear market.” With their second collection slated to drop sometime next year, FFITH is an exciting brand to keep an eye on for streetwear lovers alike.
We got to chat with FFITH founder and designer Katie Griffith about her love for fashion, honing in on community, and plans for the new year amongst other topics! Read below.
Take us back to the beginning, where did your love for fashion begin and what eventually led to you creating your own clothing label.
Kind of cliche but I’ve been obsessed with fashion since I was a little, I’d make clothes for my dolls out of old clothes clippings, I asked for a sewing machine and mannequin for my 13th birthday, I’d spend hours on the vogue website and blogs to look at the designs from fashion week and obsess over the catwalks before Instagram made all of this easy. When I was younger social media wasn’t used the way it is now, I had no idea having my own brand would be something I’d be capable of doing or accessing.
Regrettably, I didn’t pursue fashion design as I thought it would be too competitive to work for the giant fashion houses as that was the only career option I thought was viable, not really knowing or being taught much about the fashion industry and all the prospects available. But I loved fashion and knew I wanted to do something fashion related so instead I studied fashion promotion and marketing, I learned a lot about building a brand identity, from the fonts used to color palettes, where to market, who the consumer is, and so on.
Whilst I was studying at university, one of my good friends worked at a vintage wholesaler so we decided to create our own brand, we would resell vintage stock before we made a few of our own pieces printing onto blanks. This really gave me an insight into how to run a brand and what it takes. We eventually went our separate ways and I moved forward with FFITH, this is when I realized I could still pursue my love for design and have my own clothing label. I spent months thinking about what I wanted my brand to represent, what it meant to me, how I wanted it to look and that’s how FFITH came about.
Can you share with us the inspiration behind FFITH’s name?
So FFITH is actually part of my surname Griffith (Gri-ffith) I wanted to name the brand something personal to me but also something allusive that looks aesthetically pleasing, I love how the word is perfectly symmetrical. I also created an acronym for it which is: “For Females In The Hustle” as that’s basically the brand’s ethos, it’s for boss, independent women who work hard, make their money, and enjoy life! My focus is contemporary streetwear for women only, I think it’s important we have our own female-focused brands and take up space within the streetwear market.
Pieces like the catsuit and stacked sweatpants are both stylish and simplistic, where do you draw your design inspiration from?
I draw a lot of inspiration from functional, athletic, and military wear, I love clean simple but also slightly futuristic silhouettes. The jumpsuit is a piece I personally love, it reminds me of a space alien cadet or even superhero, I love those kind of sci-fi looks. I enjoy combining simple silhouettes with a contemporary or sci-fi twist, whether that’s through design, branding, or fabric choice. But ultimately I want my designs to be comfortable, easy, and versatile to wear, that can be dressed up or down so can be worn many times in different ways, I want it to fit women’s bodies well and make them feel good in it.
Brands like Yeezy, Heliot Emil, Hyein Seo, Misbhv are also big inspirations of mine. I also take inspiration from nature, nature’s color palette is so inspiring to me, my home town is by the sea in Wales the sea is grey and moody, the beaches are pebbly and rocky, the air is crisp, I find this really inspires me.
Community and fostering relationships are at the core of running a fashion label. Can you discuss the importance of expanding and creating a lasting community?
This is something I’m always trying to develop and work on, it’s a constantly evolving thing. I feel it’s so important building solid relationships with your customers and followers who show love and interest, it’s a two-way street and I love to interact with people online. I think it’s vital to offer more than just clothing, offer an experience, and building a community of like-minded people is priceless, really and truly this is what fashion should be about, bringing people together, connecting people.
Do you have some brands or influential names in mind you hope to collaborate with in the future?
I’m obsessed with 3D design and animation so would love to collaborate with Fortnite, IMVU, GTA – ultimately I would LOVE to collaborate with Rockstar Games, Epic Games, or an app developer and have my own FFITH fashion and action game haha, but that’s a long term life goal. I would love to collab with Hyein Seo or Prix, I’m a huge fan of there’s and their aesthetic, or influencers like Aleali May or Louisa Meng I would love to work with.
What advice do you have for all aspiring entrepreneurs out there?
Anyone aspiring to be an entrepreneur my advice is to go for it, get out of your own way, you’re more capable than you think. It’s ok to get things wrong, you’ll learn things on the way, just start, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Be authentic to yourself, don’t do things for clout or money, don’t follow trends, do what you love, what inspires you and really tap into that. Focus on what you want to achieve, start small but think big. Also, youtube has tutorials for literally everything, you’ve got this!
Can you share any upcoming plans for FFITH in 2022?
I’m currently sampling collection two which, working with new suppliers and constantly improving fits and fabrics, I can’t wait to bring my new ideas to life. We’ve got some events in the pipeline which we’re currently planning for next summer, as well as a new feature to the brand which I won’t go into too much detail on, it’s something quite different but I’m really excited about this and think it will be an amazing way to create community and help others, keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram for more updates!
