Edinburgh-based streetwear brand Saint Mind outlines ambitions to be major player

An ambitious, Edinburgh-based streetwear brand run by two young brothers is looking to significantly scale up, targeting the premium end of the market and expanding its range, for example – as it looks to help put Scotland’s fashion scene on the map.

Saint Mind is aiming to help put Scotland’s fashion scene on the map. Picture: contributed.

Saint Mind was set up in 2018 by Ibzz and Ciwan Cakir, on the back of their keen interest in the streetwear and fashion sectors – inspired by the likes of Fendi, Balenciaga and Gucci. It now offers menswear such as tracksuits, mixing subtle colours with colourful logos and prints.

“We aim to make Saint Mind a high-quality fashion brand with affordable prices… Our customers are growing daily,” Ibzz Cakir told Scotland on Sunday. He said the brand is aimed at the 17 to 25 age bracket, and has set up tie-ups with the likes of Arsenal footballer Lucas Torreira, comedian Yung Filly, N-Dubz rapper Dappy and Love Island stars – with many more lined up. About 60 per cent of its sales come from social media.

It is looking to expand in the UK, for example by running a pop-up shop in 2021 for around a month in a city. The UK currently comprises about a third of sales, with more than half coming from other European countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, Italy and the Netherlands – and the US and rest of the world about 15 per cent.

The fashion brand was set up in 2018 - and is aimed at 17- to 25-year-olds. Picture: contributed.

The firm – which is also planning to give 5 per cent of its profits to mental health charity Mind – is aiming to create a womenswear section, to tap into demand after it found that many women wear its products as loungewear.

Additionally, and starting from its autumn/winter 2020 collection, the firm is also switching to manufacturers based in Portugal and Ukraine that work with high-end designer brands, a move Cakir said will improve its quality of fabrics, and speed up production times. It comes as it looks to have its products stocked in high-end stores such as Harvey Nichols.

The brothers also want to help the community, with one of their long-term plans to build a program aimed at young, budding entrepreneurs, “helping them start up and giving them the information they need such as advice and the routes they should go down as well as having a positive mindset”. Saint Mind is also keen to “when the time is right” hire staff and offer internships to fashion or business/marketing students.

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