Meet The British Designer Who Went From Redundancy To Making Clothes For Kylie Jenner In Just A Month

Last week, Kylie Jenner uploaded two posts to Instagram in which she is wearing the same dress. Collectively, those posts amassed over 14 million 'likes' and 71,000 comments. This, of course, is completely normal for the youngest member of the Kardashian family, who has over 185 million followers – six million more than her older sister Kim. But in the minutes after uploading these particular posts – which saw her posing in a £145 mini dress while on holiday – Jedidiah Duyile's life changed beyond recognition. For Duyile – known as Jed to her friends – is the designer of the dress in question, which was created as part of her fashion label, Loudbrand Studios.

'I was actually sewing at the time,' Duyile says over the phone. 'I was making a sample of something new when my friend called me and said ‘Is Kylie wearing your dress?’ And I couldn’t believe she’d actually worn it. I was sitting on my sofa and my hands were shaking. Everything changed in just two minutes. Before she wore the dress, we were on about 2,000 followers [on Instagram] and by the next morning it was already on 10,000. Then, in a couple of hours we went from 20,000 to 30 and now we're on over 40,000.'

The story attracted a lot of attention, largely because Jenner was heavily criticised for not tagging the brand at first. Many were quick to question why she hadn't, suggesting she wasn't being supportive of a small, Black-owned business. But Duyile didn't agree. 'I saw the criticism but that wasn’t our perspective- I didn’t even think about her tagging it, I just thought 'I’ve sewn something in my room in Hackney and it’s now in LA and she likes it!' She must get thousands of pieces and for her to like it enough to wear it, that was good enough for me. So, that’s why Iwent on Twitter to say thanks. Everything changed in a matter of hours. I was made redundant last month. I was an events coordinator in the day and in the evening I would sew my clients’ stuff and post it during my break. So, this has really happened just when it needed to at the most perfect time. It's been incredible because I’ve gone from sitting at home on furlough to being made redundant to being stupid busy.'

Having studied Fashion Journalism at London College of Fashion, Duyile quickly realised she didn't want to pursue that path after she graduated. 'I’ve always been interested in arts and crafts so I decided I wanted to do something with denim. I love denim and I always used to alter all my clothes, so I wanted to reconstruct denim pieces. I started doing that, customising jeans for people and then I got a bit bored. I was given a sewing machine so went to the fabric shop and started experimenting. My friend and I came up with a name. I’ve got a necklace with a trumpet on it and she asked what it meant – I said I guess I’m really loud, I’ve got a massive laugh. So the name came about from that.'

An intense, two-day course in pattern cutting was the investment Duyile says she made in herself, which is now paying dividends. That and her own sense of self-belief, which allowed her to contact Jenner's stylist, Jill Jacobs. 'I reached out to Jill because I really wanted to work with her,' says Duyile. 'I think what she does is amazing and her sense of style is incredible. So I said I have these pieces, I work really hard on my brand and really believe in it and I would just love to work with you one day. She said 'absolutely, I would love to pull your pieces, I think they’re really strong and we should work together soon.' That was enough for me, just that she replied. And then almost straight away she got her assistant to email me with the pieces she wanted and I couldn’t believe it. I jumped on my sewing machine straight away and Fedexed it to LA!'

The dress in question – the Limited Edition Raw Edge Vashtie Dress – took Duyile just two hours to make on her sewing machine before it was in the post, on its way to one of the world's most influential celebrities. The original design was, she says, 'an accident. I was trying to make a new piece – I had been making separates for a while and I wanted to make a really cool dress that was inspired by my background. My parents are Nigerian and Ghanaian and I love the earthy tones- the brown, red hues, I love those fabrics.'

While she had sold a few since it originally went on sale in January, Duyile saw her entire collection completely sell out within 'the first 15-20 minutes of Kylie posting.'

Given the struggles so many small, independently-owned brands have faced since coronavirus struck, it's refreshing to hear Duyile's excitement as she says she's now looking for local manufacturers in London who can help her fulfill the new demand for her designs. But, she says, she is determined to stay true to Loudbrand Studios' sustainable, made-to-order model. 'I know demand is high but I just want to make sure each person feels special in each piece and also that it’s sustainable in terms of making sure we produce only what we need to produce. We’re visiting different factories to get our numbers right and see how we can make it work. I know how it feels as a customer choosing which brands to support, looking at what their ethics are and what they believe in. Those things are so important to me.'

The dress is now available again to pre-order, which shows just how quickly Duyile has worked to respond to the interest generated by Jenner. But her ambitions extend far beyond celebrity endorsement and Insta-popularity. 'When corona happened, I sat down and really asked myself 'what do you want this brand to stand for and what does it really mean to you? What do you want people to know?' And ultimately, as a Black girl and as women in general, we deal with so many insecurities that trickle down to so many things, I just want women to feel really confident when they wear my clothes. I want LoudBrand Studios to be known globally as a brand that supports women, empowers them and I would love for it to extend past the clothes, for us to do workshops or for us to even give back and invest in other young women who want to start fashion brands.'