The First Ever fashion house is the brainchild of Justin Kestelman, co-founder of the National Basketball League (NBL), who identified a gap in the market for an innovative Australian ath-street brand. Launched in September this year, the brand has brought a new level of chic to the Athletic-Streetwear industry. We caught up with Justin to find out more behind the brand and what the response has been to this new label.
Tell us what inspired you to start First Ever
I was inspired by the growing global trend of athletic streetwear and wanted to bring this to the Australian market, as I felt that there was a gap that needed to be filled. There aren’t really any other Australian brands that specialise in this category and I feel that First Ever really satisfies this need. Our range spans across men’s, women’s and youth – there isn’t really anyone else in Australia that is like First Ever.
What the brand is about?
First Ever is all about embracing individuality. We want our customers to wear the pieces and pair them back with other pieces in their wardrobe and put their own spin on it. We’ve seen a lot of our range being worn by the opposite gender, our women’s bomber on men and our men’s sweats on women. This is the essence of FE – our brand tagline is You Do You and we feel our customer really embraces this.
What sets First Ever apart from others in the market?
The design of the collection is predominantly sports inspired, with our roots stemming from a deep appreciation of basketball culture and the sport itself. No detail has been forgotten in the range and our fabrics and finishes are premium. From the wax dipped cords on our drawstrings to the branded taping and custom FE branded zip pulls – we value our design process and this is what sets us apart from our competitors.
You launched the brand in September, what are the things you’re hearing from First Ever customers about the range?
We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that the pieces are really comfortable to wear, without compromising on style. Comfort is a big thing for us, our fabrics are really premium and I think that this surprises a lot of our customers, as this isn’t often done at our price point. We are all about functionality, comfort and style, our hoodies can be thrown on before the gym, but also worn to the bar – given how much the ath-street trend has exploded, there is a place in all walks of life for FE.
What is in store for the brand as we head into next season?
Stay tuned…we’ve got some really exciting projects in the pipeline. Collaborations are something that we are really excited to be working on in 2019.
To see the full range and to shop visit www.firstever.com
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