Meet the team: Individualism
With some arriving ‘Buttoned Up’, and others rocking a Button Down – London’s creative set put their best fashion feet forward at Individualism’s third birthday party.
Held last Thursday at Shoreditch’s suitably cool The Book Club, over two hundred people packed the basement to toast the style collective’s success and celebrate their birthday in style.
From giveaways to a style booth, a special UK Talk to Me to DJs throwing down some SERIOUS old school tunes, a well-dressed crowd partied into the small hours.
Individualism is the brain-child of brothers Aaron and Reuben Christian. Born out of a love of all things men’s style related, Aaron and Reuben spotted a gap in the market. The website began in 2008, with nifty ‘How To’ videos, quick-read informative posts and product reviews of the newest swag to hit the shops.
As the demand and interest for men’s fashion grew, so did the site: with so many blogs claiming to publishing original content, the Christian brothers made it paramount that all content emanating from their site would be new, innovative and push the boundaries of what a style blog should be.
With style studies, photo shoots, brand testimonials, street style analysis and weekly ‘get the look’ style posts, the sheer volume of content catapulted the blog into many Top 10 lists, with Individualism regularly charting in the Top Three!
But it has to be the video content which sets Individualism apart from its contemporaries: an interview with Topman Design Director Gordon Richardson, a sit-down chat with Michael Bastian; a sneak peek behind-the-scenes at Sam Greenberg and a host of other style-related videos really upped the ante.
This helped establish Individualism as the go-to guys, for not just style savvy readers but brands and companies recognising the impact Individualism are having in men’s style.
Marrying style and comedy, the Sins of Style series spins a humorous take on sartorial blunders – like the woeful sin of wearing sunglasses at night. Its slick production and witty scripts created a new dimension to their growing brand.
When Aaron asked me to be the copy sub in November 2009, I jumped at the chance. What a better way to sharpen my skills, contribute wherever I could and learn something new. And while it’s very unlikely you’ll see my ugly mug in any promotional snaps, to be part of this ever-growing collective is a privilege and has been a great experience.
Meeting new people has been fun, and working with like-minded individuals (‘scuse the pun) who are dedicated to their craft is an immense source of inspiration.
With a background in print journalism, it’s an eye-opening experience to see the growing influence of the web. To reach millions of people around the world, just by clicking ‘Post’ is a real treat – but mind-boggling too.
While the party whizzed by at an alarming speed, we were all in agreement that it was a great success. The buzz it has created is unreal and other nights are in the pipeline.
The collision of photography, journalism, styling, graphic design, fashion, video production and broadcasting has helped to create this idiosyncratic ‘nuuu meedja’ platform – who knows the heights that Individualism will scale.
It’s only the beginning.
