Interview with fashion entrepreneur Simon Cobb

As you may remember, last October I interviewed fashion entrepreneur Simon Cobb and we found out more about him as a person and his projects, you can read it HERE (link to previous interview).  Simon has clearly made quite an impact in the industry, from his highly publicized instagram account to his infamous Stock Exchange and Inspired Range the man has paved his own way and this can only be applauded. Now nearly a year on I thought it was time to catch up with the man behind Menswear Exchange and one of the pioneers of celebrity inspired fashion, he tells us why he thinks fashion has changed and how he’s had to adapt.

First off, what’s new since we last spoke?
Everything.

Ha.. Yes but specifically?
The whole direction of Menswear Exchange has changed.  We abandoned the luxury market and stopped selling luxury brands and ready to wear, at least for now, the competition was too fierce and there are already some great stores out there like Mr Porter that have far greater resources than we do.  We were better on price but not even close on variety so it wasn’t commercially viable whereas now we only focus on independent brands and celebrity inspired fashion which has improved our service and helped us generate a great online reputation.

So does this mean you now offer more of independent brands due to the removal of luxury brands?Yes, is the simple answer but we haven’t overcompensated, overall we have less products now than when we first launched over two years ago which might sound like a bad thing at first but in fact it’s meant that we can truly tailor our ranges to our core customer base and make it far easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for.  Since we’ve changed our direction our number of orders has certainly increased and the number of enquiries from both consumers and brands wanting to work with us has increased so you may well see our offering increase in the near future.

Anything new for our viewers to expect from Menswear Exchange?
There’s lots to be excited about. Menswear Exchange is going to be the first store to stock items by the Fathers4Justice, which is an organisation that campaigns for equal rights for both parents, so anyone that supports equal rights for everybody can be excited by support of such an organisation.  Perhaps, far more exciting from a fashion point of view is some of our exclusives.  We will soon be exclusively stocking “Swag London” in our Independent section and they have some very interesting t-shirt designs.  Also, we have some very exciting celebrity exclusives including merchandise worn by Kanye West.

So what’s the update on Three Dreams?
It’s coming….

Yeah we’ve noticed the cryptic posts you’ve put on social media, can you not give us a little more?
Well, so much has changed since I first started to work on the launch of Three Dreams, the market has changed. There are a lot of corny ‘get-big-quick’ type brands copying designers, copying whatever’s popular and it’s working, it might not work forever but for now it’s working so when Three Dreams drops it can’t just be a little different, it has to be totally different.  Which is hard in the information age, we might develop an idea and then before we’ve had a chance to perfect it someone else has seen it and developed something similar themselves, that’s the world we live in now.  For now, we’ve restocked the Pre Releases so people that missed out the first time can get themselves back onto Menswear Exchange and grab one!!

We have got something more in the works though and there will be something interesting for all our loyal followers this Fall/Winter and you can expect the website to be LIVE by that time: www.threedreamsclothing.com.

Why do you think fashion has changed the way it has?
We are living in a world of social media, fast food and instant gratification, people want what’s new, what’s current and they want it now. Menswear Exchange is still the only store in the world offering the best fashion houses who make the best Celebrity inspired fashion however in recent times there have been cheaper alternatives flooding the market so we’ve had to adapt to these changes. We’ve obviously had to get cheaper but we’ve made sure in doing this we still maintain the best service possible.  Customers wanting the best quality product from the most reputable independent brands and fashion houses will still come to us and the one’s wanting the cheapest possible product in both price and quality perhaps will not but we have become a store with a sterling reputation so we will not compromise on quality for the good of our customers.

I must say some of the products you stock are fantastic and I’ve recommended many items from the Inspired Range to friends and family…

So what about your ARLO project we spoke about last time?
That’s a way off to be honest, I’m too focused on both Menswear Exchange and Three Dreams and perfecting them before I take on a third project. It will happen in the future but for now I’m enjoying the time off I do get with my son and being a father as no matter what that will be my number one priority, if things take longer then that’s a small price to pay.

Finally, I just want to touch on the link on your website to Fathers4Justice… Is this just to do with your support for the cause or can we expect more?
Aside from Menswear Exchange beginning to stock their standard range to help raise awareness, I myself have begun working on a small collection of t-shirts focusing on bringing a more fashionable approach to the merchandise and ill be creating some very versatile minimalistic designs that also get the message across in a perhaps more subliminal way.  This project is still in the early stages though so I can’t give too much away for now.

So there you have it, lots to look forward to from a fan’s perspective with some exciting projects in the pipeline for both Menswear Exchange and Three Dreams, be sure to stay up to date with the following:

Simon Cobb

Instagram: @simon.cobb

Twitter: @simoncobb

Menswear Exchange

Facebook: facebook.com/menswearexchange1

Twitter: @menswearxchange

Instagram: @menswear_exchange

Three Dreams

Facebook: facebook.com/threedreamsclothing