Meet The Founder Series : Metal Street Africa

Give us a little background about Metal Street. When did it start? What was the inspiration behind the product and the brand?

Metal Streetwear is a clothing brand that focuses on delivering comfortable and stylish street style pieces for your everyday looks.

Our pieces are designed to be simple, comfy yet bold.

We started Metal Street in 2018, but officially registered in 2020. In 2018 Vicki was running Metal Streetwear as a side hustle catering to mostly friends and family.

We have been working around the Africa theme for our designs because Africa is just art. The inspiration for the fingerprint map for instance is simply identity as bold and beautifully African.

How did you find your niche?

The idea has always been, well not everyone wants to be on the runway or struggling to show off a sexy frame, but everyone wants to be comfy while walking on the streets or just lounging on the couch regardless of their body type, so let’s give them that and make it elegant.

What values guide your business?

Creativity, Boldness and Customer experience and Integrity.

How has the growth of e-commerce influenced your business? (Positively or negatively)

Ecommerce has been a very positive driving force for our business. We interact with our customers online, form trusting relationships and they are confident to shop from us stress free. 95% of all our sales are online and our shop is mainly used for display, sorting and dispatch.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced in the branding and customizing space in Kenya?

A lack of creativity from suppliers that limits availability of materials. Most people want to only sell ltd colors for instance to reduce costs and we’ve had to push those boundaries by demanding for more.

Copyright issues also come up a lot especially in Kenya, where different people don’t respect intellectual property.

How do you deal with competition?

I think your only competition is you. Your lack of creativity or indiscipline. There’s enough room for so much more in our market given fashion is very evolutionary. So we are striving to come up with more fun and inspiring designs that are relevant to our market locally and internationally.

What is your advice to entrepreneurs who’d like to venture into the same space?

The current market appreciates quality and authenticity. Bring out your unique style and be bold about it, you will find your tribe if you’re consistent.

Get your very own Metal Street merch here!