Interview by Bailey Alexander
Alice Mubarak tells us why streetwear is more than just clothing, how her brands agency is honouring that, and why she’s an honorary Jersey girl.
BA: Why don’t we just dive right in? Tell me a bit about your history with fashion.
AM: From a really, really young age, I always wanted to work in fashion. I used to buy fashion magazines and was also really into music. I used to go out to raves and parties and was into old school hip-hop. I went to art college for a bit, did a foundation, and then went to study buying at uni. After that I ended up working in a few different places before ending up at ASOS for 12 years.
What were you up to at ASOS?
By the time I left, I was heading up the streetwear area, which was mainly menswear, and buying brands. We were buying things like Carhartt, Dickies, Obey, Ellesse. Then I got really inspired on this amazing trip to LA, brought back some new brands, and met Karl Kani – that’s how I started my relationship with his brand. I was the one who brought the brand back to the UK for the first time since the 90s. Then I left ASOS and didn’t really know what to do. Then Karl contacted me and said they wanted an agent in the UK, and so I basically started there and started my own agency, Wonderland. I feel like there’s not enough representation of brands like his in the UK right now. They’re not sold enough in big retailers. There’s no one bridging that gap between what I would call true traditional streetwear, even though I hate the term streetwear.
Why don’t you like the term streetwear?
I just feel like it’s a bit limiting because it’s bigger than that. It’s not just what people are wearing out on the street – it’s to do with music and culture. It’s kind of like a feeling, a place where you come from, a group of people you fit in with. It’s a bit of an emotional thing to me. It’s just used as an overarching term.
Like a boundary?
Exactly, when actually it runs way deeper than that. When you look at all those traditional brands, they were always connected to people in the music industry. Karl had a really strong relationship with Tupac, Biggie. Dr. Dre, Snoop – they were all wearing his things back in the 90s after the collaboration he did with Cross Colours. It’s always a big connection with the music industry, and in turn it’s connecting to a certain group of people who are into that music and into clothing at the same time.
So you’ve always had this interest in music and fashion, two things that go hand in hand with streetwear. Do you reckon you would have always gone down the streetwear route, or was that inspired by your time at ASOS and meeting Karl?
I think I would have always gone down that route, yeah. I remember when I first moved to London, I had an internship at Debenhams and hated it so much. It was my first buying job in an office and I used to turn up wearing baggy jeans and high top trainers, and my boss just hated me. She was like, “How can you dress like that?” I just live in trainers and so for me it was always like part of who I was. I also worked at a luxury company run by Mohamed al-Fayed called Cocosa, and everyone there was always dressed really, really smart and I was always in trainers and tracksuits.
What’s your fashion sense like now?
I’d describe it as quite trashy streetwear. I’ve got a massive tattoo so I always wear crop tops. Soon I’ll be too old to show that off so I might as well make the most of it. I also wear really baggy pants all the time, and headscarves, loads of gold jewellery. I mean, I don’t know how you describe it.
I’d describe it as cool.
A lot of people have called me a mob wife.
Have you ever watched Mob Wives?
I love, love, love it. And The Real Housewives of New Jersey is my favourite one, babe. My favourite.
So you’re basically just a Jersey girl?
Basically, yes, with a bit more hip-hop. I wear a lot of oversized leather jackets with patches and stuff like that.
It sounds like you’re in the perfect industry. So, Wonderland Agency is all about getting clothing brands the recognition they deserve – what kind of things are you up to at the minute?
So, we’re going through a real transition period at the moment. I’ve recently met some people who I’m growing the business with quite a lot. I think there’s a big disconnect with who the customer is and who’s buying a product from stores. Some stores are a bit scared to bring some of these brands on as it’s not their usual product., and we’ve been in such a severe recession that there was, at one point, a real block on bringing on new brands. So it was very, very tough doing wholesale, and then I was like, “Why are some of these brands not known well enough in the UK?” So many people come up to me, particularly about Karl Kani and say, “Oh, we didn’t even know it was back”. That’s when I realised what a wholesale agency needs to do is the whole 360: the marketing, brand activations, events, and the wholesale. If you’re doing it all in one place then you’ve got one united vision and you’re targeting specific people who you want to sell to, and you’re creating a story that’s authentic that potential customers can feel some sort of emotional connection to.
Is that something that’s important to you?
Really, really important. When I go shopping, I buy brands that I feel an emotional connection to. I think people don’t talk about that enough, but that’s why some brands are selling and some brands. It goes back to what I was saying about how you feel like a part of something if you’re wearing that product. So, with the agency, I was like you can’t just be doing one thing. You need to be gifting to the right artists or, if there’s an artist who loves a brand, then doing a shoot with them would be really authentic, or an event, and sponsoring their tour – it all goes hand in hand with helping the wholesale model because then retailers see the brand’s out there in the market. Skepta and Puma did this huge activation in Brick Lane the other day and I saw there were a lot of buyers there – they’re taking notice, they’re sitting up, and it’s getting the brand back out there.
So is that the direction you’re taking Wonderland in?
I’ve literally had no experience in that side of the business, but I’m learning now and about to get some staff who have the experience. I think things are changing now and you need to be looking at it as a 360 idea where you do everything for the brand, not just wholesale here, PR here, events here – it needs to be all in one house and that’s my vision, but it’s a lot of work and so it’s taking a bit of time.
It’ll be worth it, but you’ve made me wonder: how do you pick the brands you’re willing to work with?
To be honest with you, it’s very subjective, isn’t it? You might pick a load of brands that are totally different to the brands that I would pick. Generally, people approach me, and I think it’s important that I believe in the brand and think that it’s something you could make a success out of. It also has to fit into my idea of the agency and the sort of brands that I think will work well together. Like, I wouldn’t go after a women’s floral dress brand right now, because I’m selling mainly Basketball jerseys, baggy jeans, and varsity jackets.
To finish off, is there a streetwear trend or brand that you really like at the moment or even one that you hate?
I love baggy. I’ve always really loved baggy and it’s really back now. The wider, the bigger, the baggier, the better. I really love Corteiz. I like Unknown because I love a glittery rhinestone. I also love all the more traditional brands: Palace, Aries , Homies Where the Heart Is. There’s a brand called Beautifully Said that I saw at the shoot the other day that I really love as well.