Sometimes we can’t really wrap our heads around how twisted these times we’re living really are. On the one hand almost anything is mass produced nowadays, but at the same time the cry for individuality is louder than ever. Soraya Goggin had it very right when she followed her own instinct and created new UK based girls brand KUCCIA, using end of the roll fabrics for her dresses. We caught up with her to find out more about this unique idea

Interview by Anna Langer, lifestyle shots by Jason Reposar

Two years ago you started your own brand of clothes made from end of the roll fabrics. Where did you get the idea for that?
It was really weird actually. It all started when I was 20, 21 years old and got really sick of everybody wearing the same stuff. Especially when you see someone you don’t find particularly cool or something wearing something you just bought, it can be really annoying. So I started to make my own stuff for me and my friends and I used end of the roll fabrics for that, that’s where the idea for the limited edition came from.

How did it turn into a brand?
That’s a long story. At 20 I was studying at university and working as an intern for the BBC as a broadcasting assistant. The hours were really sporadic and spontaneous, so I couldn’t have a normal side job in a cafe or something. So instead I decided to make some clothes and try to sell them on the streets and beaches. And people bought it. I was really surprised but then eventually I started going to Asia to have stuff made and then it really took off. It just evolved into a brand and now it’s full on.

Did you always want to have your own brand or work as a designer?
No, never! I know this sounds strange but I don’t even know where exactly the idea came from. I just had this vision of selling some my clothes on the side of the street and then the people really bought them. It’s something I never dreamed of doing but somehow it just evolved like that.

You do a ‘limited edition’ and a ‘normal’ collection. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
The limited edition is the core of the collection, it’s what makes Kuccia unique.  We use off cuts of fabrics from China and Korea, which is really good ethics because it’s recycling basically and also it makes every dress different so you’ll never walk down the street seeing someone wearing the exact same dress. And in combination with the simple styles our clothes have they’re also really nice and easy to wear. But all people are different, so we have other styles as well for which we get stuff printed. While the limited edition is sold in packs where no item is the same as the other one, the stuff in the normal collection comes as one style, one print but in different colourways.

With the second collection this Summer you added more styles like jumpsuits and bikinis. Is there something else that has changed since last year?
It’s really just constantly evolving. Last year we only did two specific styles of the limited edition dresses. That went so well that this Summer we decided to extend the limited edition range. Now half of the whole collection is limited and the other half is what you see is what you get, i. e. one garment or one print split between two or three colourways.

And in Winter?
We also did two Winter collections already and the last one went extremely well actually. From the marketing side we focus on the Summer stuff, just because I think it’s more universal but last Winter was really a killer too, I never expected that.

What’s the Winter stuff like?
It’s very Japanese influenced, lots of jersey dresses with high collars, little buttons, lots of gold and colourful prints. I think people don’t only want to wear black in Winter, so we use lots of really bright prints. Easy dresses you just put on and even when you feel shit everyone will still be like “Wow, you like nice!”

Do you actually do everything yourself in your brand?
Yeah man, I do it all! Haha. It’s hard core. I’m going to a factory in Bangkok today  to sort some stuff out. When it all started I literally just took a flight to China without knowing anything. There weren’t even any backpackers there, just African and Arab men and me. But it’s quite exciting and a massive adventure too, you put yourself on a line all the time because you never know, you can just keep pushing yourself to the limit like a gamble. It’s constant gambling around. Now there are four of us doing design work which is cool because they are pretty much all my friends. Anyone who works with or for me has got to be my friend, we’re like a family. It can get stressful too but its fun, it’s people you love, people you love to work with and people you trust, so if they do something you don’t like you can tell them to change it around, just as they can tell me

Do you have any specific plans for Kuccia in the future?
Just to keep growing and extend the market. We’ve come a really long way in a short period of time without really realising that it was going to happen. Now we’re finding out what people like and it’s just about growing it, but slowly and in a good way so it doesn’t flip out. We already had offers from big people who want to take on the line and put it in their stores, but the case is I don’t want them to take it, grow it overly fast, piss off all the small independent shops and then drop it again after a year or so. Because we have a nice base with independent stores right now, they like us because we’re different. Our unique concept of the limited edition has a really nice vibe to it, I visit our customers in a graffiti covered van which they absolutely love and I really want to keep that individuality. Especially in this climate people need to feel they’re getting something different.

But you want to expand as well.
Yes, I definitely want to grow across the UK and Europe, but not in a way that is too corporate. I want to do this through special advertising, I want the right people to know about it rather than working with an agency. There’s already someone in Oman selling our line and in Poland and Belgium. In the UK we’re mainly in the Southwest, where the surf is, that’s kind of the area and vibe. So if there is any stockists in Europe who want to stock us, just get in touch! I love doing this brand, it’s fun and I have to keep it like that, otherwise I’ll get bored and freak out, haha.

We’re sure you’ll manage! Thanks very much.
But we’d love to their stuff in a lot more countries, so if you’d like to get in touch with Kuccia just contact [email protected] and check out kuccia.com

To get a preview of their stuff, click through our gallery below.