SED*8 Magazine

Words by Corinne Scotland

This aspiring East London mogul goes by the street name Krae. From the age of six the ‘hood king’ from Bangladesh could be found tagging the streets of London with bad, bold, booming graffiti designs. Now his creativity has developed into a street-wise fashion label that not only brings an honest message to London style, but jobs to poverty-stricken Bangladesh.

“Kraezy Clothing has been on a long journey,” Krae says tucking into samosas in a cafe in Bethnal Green. “It all started when I was about six years old. I started doing graff and getting my tag out on to the street. From as early as then I had creativity and design going round in my head.” Krae moved from his homeland of Bangladesh to East London when he was two years old. He grew up in a council estate near Brick Lane – an area where, he says, “You had to always be hustling to remain hood king.”

To achieve this status he did things at school and throughout his childhood that he refuses to speak about. “There are certain stories which must remain untold for now. One day, I’m sure all will be revealed, maybe in a book or a film, but I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

He was accepted onto an access course which eventually led to a BA degree in graphic and digital design at the University of Greenwich. “University really was my ticket to commercial success,” Krae reflects. “Until then Kraezy Clothing was something happening in my head, you know?. I started to realise the potential I had inherited from 17 years of graffiti art practice, from mixing colours and creating letter forms on the concrete canvasses of London. So I just transferred the talent.”

But it has by no means been an easy journey. In 2001 he had his first child, a major life-changing event that made him really start to think about the rest of his life and about financial security.

“Having my first daughter was a real turning point. I knew I couldn’t just continue to dream. I had to do something that would ultimately prove myself and provide for my daughter financially. Suddenly I guess it wasn’t all about me anymore.” As well as dealing with financial and family pressures, Krae has had to deal with demands from his peers who frowned upon his business and commercial attitude. “Probably the greatest challenge was the ‘hustle’ who tried to discourage my progress. I had to make a decision to brush the hustle off and move on. In the end the fact that many of my peers didn’t believe in me and were angry that I was aiming so high, just pushed me to work harder at achieving my goals.”

As we talk about his route to success, Krae starts to realise that maybe the difficulties he has been through have actually helped his creativity to flourish. Despite the pressure from his peers and the responsibility of having a child, he still managed to find time and passion to put down on paper designs that in his words, “were dope in design and positive in message.” Hardship turned into motivation and inspiration.

In February 2008, he officially launched Kraezy Clothing. The Margin Tradeshow exhibition in London showcased all of his final year students’ work, giving Krae the opportunity to demonstrate the potential of his brand. “It was one of the most amazing days where I just felt so blessed.” A year later, twent-two premium streetwear outlets in London around Brick Lane, Bethnal Green and Spitalfields Market as well as outlets in Paris and New Jersey, stock the brand.

From dreaming designer, Krae has become a solid commercial street success. His series of graphically designed t-shirts and sweatshirts for men and women are selling fast and word is spreading about his new label just as quickly on the street. His tag, “Kraezy”, which is also his logo, is representative of the kind of street cred that the label oozes. But according to him, this is just the beginning. “The Kraezy brand is in baby form!”.

He dreams of pushing his gear far beyond London- into his home country of Bangladesh. Selling his material over there might initially be about getting his identity known, but his real vision is to change the cycle of poverty that has plagued his country and family for decades. He sees a potential opportunity in Kraezy Clothing, to create jobs in Bangladesh so that families like his own won’t have to move overseas to find work. By providing such an opportunity families like his can stay together in one place.

“I want to leave something behind for my kids growing up” he says. “It’s a real honest dream I have for my family to come together in the future – for them to work together in a family business rather than everyone fending for themselves. I know that it might not happen in my lifetime, but I know that I could start it. Then, you never know what could happen.” With such a Kraezy business sense and innovative design, this one will go far.

www.kraezy.com

If you are a budding street designer, Kraezy recommends that you contact the Margin Trade Show, which exists to promote young upscale streetwear and directional tailoring labels. Visit

www.margin.tv for info.