When a Japanese man proudly shared a photo of himself wearing his new designer t-shirt, it was the ultimate seal of approval for Peterhead fashion designer Raymond Simpson.
For Raymond, this monumental moment proved that despite 5,662 miles of land and water separating Aberdeen and Japan, a taste for luxury menswear transcends global borders.
In a matter of weeks after launching his Japanese inspired online luxury men’s clothing brand Rayelle, the 25-year-old now has customers as far a-field as Milan and Austria not to mention celeb fans including reality TV star Scotty T from MTV’s Geordie Shore.
“I thought that was probably one of the greatest kinds of approval of my designs because if anything there shouldn’t be a shortage of Japanese inspired things in Japan,” said Raymond.
“But obviously they’ve seen my vision and what I’ve tried to achieve.”
Living in the moment
Like the brand’s ethos ‘one life, one encounter’, Raymond is cherishing every moment of his new found fashion fame.
“The most rewarding part of it is when you see people wearing it, posting about it on social media and to hear the good feedback, that’s when it becomes fun,” said Raymond.
Not following the trend
Drive and determination to succeed is imprinted in Raymond’s DNA, as is evident in all the medals he collected as one of Scotland’s fastest young sprint stars.
This formidable focus meant that from a very early age, Raymond’s lifetime ambition was to launch his own fashion label.
“I’m quite passionate about fashion, it’s always been a big thing for me, especially high quality clothes, said Raymond.
“I love colours and wearing things that were different from other people as opposed to following the trend.
“I would usually be one of the first to wear something different which would often make me want to wear it more if people aren’t wearing it.”
A cut above
With a natural flair for all things creative, it was no surprise when Raymond excelled at Robert Gordon University where he gained a BSc degree in architecture.
Complimenting his creativity, was Raymond’s entrepreneurial spirit as while juggling his studies, he set up his own barbering business which allowed him to save up enough money to launch his online clothing business.
“While I was at uni, early on in the first year, I started cutting my friends’ hair,” said Raymond.
“Word soon got round quickly that I was a barber so before I knew it I was borderline cutting hair full-time and doing my architecture degree part-time.”
Luxury menswear
Four years ago, Raymond celebrated getting his trademark for Rayelle and since then he has put his heart and soul into his venture before officially launching in May.
“I don’t just do things half-heartedly, I commit to everything that I do,” said Raymond.
“Everything is about quality.
“With the clothing it was always my intention to get really high-quality luxury clothing.
“I knew it would take a long time to follow the process through because of the quality that I was going for so in the end it did take a long time to get everything to where I wanted it to be but I got there anyway.”
Gap in the market
From the smooth satin labels to the re-usable zip bag packaging, Raymond has meticulously thought through every single stitch and thread of his business.
This attention to detail sets Raymond apart from the crowd.
“What I found was that as you got more luxury, a lot of brands didn’t have the same range of colour and design,” said Raymond.
“They tend to get more bland as you got higher quality.
“Whereas some of the fast fashion will knock out quite cool and funky designs but once you wash the print comes off.
“So I certainly felt that there was a gap in the market for a high-quality luxury clothing line that was also going to break out of the norm a little bit and have a range of colours.”
Celeb fans
As a self-confessed globe trotter, Raymond’s fascination with different cultures and countries is what fuelled his Japanese inspired Kanji jersey range.
His fascination with the country shines through his designs which feature the brand’s slogan written in Japanese Kanji.
Two of his statement pieces, his metallic rainbow jersey and the Kanji jersey, caught the attention of Scotty T who appeared in MTV series Geordie Shore.
The star loved Raymond’s designs so much that he proceeded to share them with his 2.8 million followers on Instagram.
“Scotty thought it was the best quality clothes that anybody has sent him and I’m sure he’s not had a shortage of stuff being sent to him,” said Raymond.
What’s next?
Just like his striking designs, the future looks bright for the hard-working designer who has been known to survive on just two hours of sleep a night.
“My dream is to see it grow and become a household name so that people all over would know the name,” said Raymond.
You can check out at the Rayelle website or on social media.
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