Nothing is better than being born before the 00’s. This is the belief of 90’s loving designer duo Rex Lo and Elly Cheng. Their label, Somewhere Nowhere is an exercise in free spirit dressing, drenched in whimsy and dripping with fun. They say they dream of candy floss and marshmallows, believe in unicorns and have friendships with rainbows, and this playful ethos which they reveal is also inspired by “a mixture of Spice Girls, Back to the Future, Pokemon and Hello Kitty, is injected into their unisex street wear pieces.

After meeting whilst studying at London College of Fashion the two founded Somewhere Nowhere in 2012 in order to “change humdrum life into a wonderland”. From motifs of teddy bears and monster scales, to candy and bubblegum shades, novelty aesthetic is something they do best, and this undoubtedly spawns from their inner youth. “We all have a child living inside us. Our collections were always inspired by our daily lives and our childhood. The name of our latest SS14 Fluffle Puff collection comes from My Little Ponies,” they explain.

The SS14 collection has a certain duality to it, appearing almost pyjama like the pieces seem able to transition from sleep to play time, a quality that definitely reflects the concept of creating a wonderland through clothes since often wonderlands are found during sleep and dreams. The duo agree and goes on to explain; “we actually designed something from our own pyjamas. The collection consists of polar fleece, which is often used in sleepwear. We thought why can’t someone just go out as comfy as they were at home or in bed. This world is needs some stylish pyjamas”.

Adding to these whimsical concepts is the often fluffy and soft textures the duo use; they always make material choices that are just as playful as the aesthetics behind them. “We started to use a lot of fluffy textures for our very first AW collection. From a designer's angle, we love the contrast and impact of different textures, but from our personal angle, we just love candy floss and all kinds of fluffy stuff. Who doesn’t?”

So would the duo describe the collections as kitsch or kuwaii then considering they do have similarities to Japanese dressing that incorporates the wonders of childhood? The duo believes their brand “won’t make you either kawaii or kitsch, but the person who wears them will. It’s all about personality and styles.” Explaining their ideal customers are “childish boys and girls who still dream about their wonderland at night”.

And to end they simply state; “May the power of rainbows and unicorns be with you”.

http://somewherenowhere.mysupadupa.com

Words / Jamie-Maree Shipton