Kuyichi Opens Its First Concept Store in the UK

Kuyichi, the leading Dutch fashion denim brand and Made-By partner brand, has opened its first stand-alone retail concept store in the UK in Manchester. The Manchester store, located at 28 King Street, marks the beginning of the roll out of Kuyichi across the UK, Ireland and France. The brand is already available in more than 500 points of sale across Europe, as well as in Australia and a number of other countries. Created by Kuyichi’s in house design team, the new Manchester store covers 1,363 sq ft (127 square meters). The interior evokes Kuyichi’s brand philosophy and includes hot FSC wood, beautiful natural stones, tropical plants and an overall simplistic store design. Combining modern design methods that focus on ecological and sustainable concepts, Kuyichi offers its customers an innovative blend of fair trade and sustainability alongside a lifestyle brand that is based on almost 100 % sustainable product. "We wanted a store that you will not find on every corner of the street,” explains Kuyichi CEO Leo Cantagalli. “And we want to surprise, because we are different. The Manchester store shows 'The World of Kuyichi'. Uncomplicated, but with good, sustainable products that range from our bags through to our accessories.”

“At Made-By we are extremely proud to call Kuyichi a partner brand and work with them to achieve their sustainability goals” says Allanna McAspurn, General Manager of Made-By in the United Kingdom. “I’m certain that the opening of its first UK store in Manchester is going to introduce the Kuyichi brand and its philosophy to a much wider audience across Britain. This is a brand to watch.” Back in 2000 the founders of Kuyichi, the leading Dutch and international NGO Solidaridad, were looking to introduce more organic cotton in to the clothing industry. Following their experience with the development of fair trade organic coffee and fruit in Latin America, they had discovered that the cotton industry was causing pollution that directly impacted on the poverty suffered by indigenous Amerindians and factory workers. Solidaridad decided to make a change. At first it tried to convince the major players in the denim industry to use more organic cotton in order to improve the working and living conditions of its workers in developing countries. At the time the major brands showed hesitation to change, and as a direct result Solidaridad decided to start its own fashion brand. In 2001 Kuyichi was born.
 

Ten years after its launch, Kuyichi has grown into a trend-setting jeans label, which is also at the forefront of what it likes to call the “Organic Revolution”. In cooperation with Made-By, Kuyichi is constantly working to further improve its production process and to increase its use of sustainable materials. Kuyichi continues to innovate and is exploring and developing new sustainable production processes and materials, including recycled polyester, Tencel, spare denim, lenpur, vegetable tanned leather and hemp. It now produces its collections not just in Latin America but also in Turkey, Tunisia, India, China, Italy, and a number of other countries. Made-By was founded in 2004 in response to rising consumer concern in Europe over social and environmental issues in the fashion industry. Like Kuyichi, it was set up by Solidaridad that has been an innovator and driving force in fair trade and environmental issues. Made-By has had a significant and growing impact on the sustainable fashion industry in Europe since its launch. Made-By operates globally in partnership with Solidaridad and has offices in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
 

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