SoJones.com Exclusive Interview with Up and Coming Brand “Plain Lazy”

Article written by: SoJones
Posted on: June 25, 2009

United Kingdom-based Plain Lazy streetwear is quite literally a lifestyle brand. It’s ”all about running away from work and finding other things to do, distractions from life and the real world of boredom and drudgery”. Plain Lazy has three stores in southwest England and is carried all over the UK. They’re not widely known in the US… yet! SoJones talked to Plain Lazy’s Nina Stevens for an exclusive insight into the line.

[SoJones.com] INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND DESCRIBE HOW YOUR BRAND WAS STARTED?

[Plain Lazy] Mark Hagley is the founder, he created Plain Lazy off the back of a student loan, it started out the back of a van and sales from a tent at festivals around the country. It all started in 1993 and within 5 years mark opened his first shop just near the South Coast of England. The shop was flooded in the flash floods of 2000 that affected the whole town and it destroyed the store. Once this one closed he reopened in the young university town of Brighton and immediately spoke to the skaters and students in the area, 2 more shops opened after that, further South and in more coastal regions. We built up our concessions in major retailers and the brand grew and grew, what’s best about it is that throughout its life Plain Lazy has kept its ethos and never ‘sold out’ or jumped on any fashion band wagon, we are unique and set aside from a flooded market.

[SoJones.com] DESCRIBE THIS SEASON AND NEXT SEASON’S LOOKS. INCLUDE ANY SOURCES OF INSPIRATION.

[Plain Lazy] This summer sees the introduction of a wider/brighter palette of garment colours. The idea behind the brighter colours is to make the plain lazy philosophies stand out more combining both our slogans with the bright summer look. There’s also the introduction of some longer length tee’s for the girls with distressed all over prints. A lot of the inspiration comes from where our clothes are already worn, on the streets, by the beach and in the skate parks.

Looking to AW09 there’s a big step in introducing a range of Denim for Guys and Girls. Something we have wanted to do for a while but have needed to team up with the right denim manufacturers to offer affordable, stylish jeans that fit in well with our brand and also tick the right boxes for what our customers are after.

Finally, a new water proof shell jacket that can be used all year round for outdoor activities with strong ripstop fabrics, should see our extremists through years of bike trails/ skating ramps and roughhousing.

[SoJones.com] WHAT CELEB OR WELL-KNOWN FIGURE(S) EXEMPLIFY THE BRAND?

[Plain Lazy] Kelly Slater, Tony Hawk (old but still names people recognise and are awe inspired by), Garret Reynolds and so on are the key people for our brand. We have a lot of support from the backpacker hip hop types, people who skate, surf, bmx etc, plus the festival revellers.

But if you really want an answer to that, think Dave Chapelle meets John Cleese in a skate park where Eminem is writing some lyrics…….

[SoJones.com] ANY PRODUCT PLACEMENTS ON CELEBS, IN MOVIES OR VIDEOS TO KEEP TO AN EYE OUT FOR?

[Plain Lazy] Real hits lately have been in comedy, which is great as it means we really are hitting the mark with humour. Some really big English comics have been seen wearing our tees whilst doing their stand up gigs.

We do a lot of TV shows as well, hit teen drama series (UK’s grittier, darker and less polished version of Beverly Hills 90210, called Skins) and some music videos but as a rule we try and steer clear of the ones that take themselves too seriously, as it’s just not us, we like a laugh and so our brand needs to epitomise that statement through placement.

[SoJones.com] ANY EXPANSION PLANS?

[Plain Lazy] We want to continue our steady growth patterns and ensure that we continue to support more people within their lifestyle choices, we want to reach out to anyone who likes spending time on a board or bike, whether it’s surfing/skating/mountain biking, we want to provide good quality gear and help people to follow lifestyle aspirations, we also want to ensure we keep our tongue in cheek attitude and we don’t intend to take ourselves too seriously.

Plus we have introduced a denim range for AW 09.

Businesswise we are opening new stores, gaining more retail points everyday and massively developing our online sales, which will point us abroad. We have a number of licenses that epitomise the brand like outdoor beanbags, duvet covers, tea mugs (good old English ways will never die!!), sofas and more.

In the Online arena the website is expanding with new social media platform; Lazyweb, allowing people to submit, promote videos, photos of themselves in various sporting activities from skating to break dancing, they can also post up comments and feedback. This autumn plain lazy launches a 33 piece hat and cap range, as well as bags, wallets and belt/belt buckle range.

[SoJones.com] LOOKING AHEAD OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO, WHAT THEMES/LOOKS/STYLES DO YOU SEE YOUR BRAND GRAVITATING TO?

[Plain Lazy] Our head designer Nick, said: “My aim is to expand on the denim ranges and increase the amount of technical clothing to support our outdoor enthusiasts. However on the flip side for our more housebound customer we’ll be introducing new softer cotton garments for comfort around the house. The women’s range will see the introduction of some yoga garments to combat the stresses of life and relax after a long day.”

[SoJones.com] WHAT THEMES/LOOKS/STYLES DO YOU SEE YOUR BRAND MOVING AWAY FROM?

[Plain Lazy] Fashion trends move so quickly but we’ll aim to move with what our customer base is after to support their lifestyles. We want to continue to offer new and fun garments and to give something different to what the market already has on offer. We want to be kept within the fashion market but we don’t want to follow it too hard, we want to help people create their own styles that they are comfortable in and that are timeless, this we believe, is attainable.

[SoJones.com] WHAT HAS BEEN A SURPRISE FASHION HIT OVER THE LAST YEAR? (A PARTICULAR PIECE, A LOOK OR EVEN ANOTHER BRAND)

[Plain Lazy] Men’s vest tops, have been a massive hit this summer, after a couple of poor summers these have started to fly off the shelves. Fingers crossed we get the hot summer we’ve been promised!

Other big hitters have been trucker and baseball caps for the Shoreditch stylers (guys in an east London location) and belts.

Plain Lazy is available in their own stores and boutiques throughout the United Kingdom. You can purchase online from them here.

Look for a Plain Lazy-sponsored giveaway, details to be posted later today!