Shop Dutty

Dutty is more than just a shop, clothing label and club night, it has become a meeting point for some of Bristol’s most creative subcultures. It began with a club night ten years ago that was all about giving a voice to women in hip hop and raising their profile within the genre. After that went down well, opening a shop seemed like the best way for owner Louisa to keep her focus on music while also branching out into fashion design. A fascination with hip hop culture and a desire to make it more accessible to girls led to stocking spray cans and since Shop Dutty opened in Stokes Croft, the area has flowered with street art.

Dutty have won big respect for their own mens and womenswear, Louisa’s Dutty Girl and co-owner Joh’s Butchi & Gosmos label, as well as their partnerships with Bristol’s freshest and most innovative independent designers. The pair chose to work solely with local designers partly because they both believe in less waste but also because Bristol is so overflowing with creative talent there really was no reason to look anywhere else. Dutty has a strong record of nurturing talent by supporting local brands and offering internships to local designers. Huck spoke to Louisa to find out what Dutty was all about.

How do you chose brands you want to work with?
“At the heart of the shop’s ethos is representing local designers. We really believe in people that are doing it for themselves, especially making things handmade. We’re carving out a niche because there aren’t many people that do streetwear handmade. We just want to support people doing it differently in the streetwear and vintage scenes. We have to like a whole brand. We don’t want to chose just single pieces, we need to represent a brand as a whole. The most important thing for me is innovation, I don’t want to see something that’s been done before. Make it different! There are always trends with fashion, but what are you bringing to it?”

Why is it so important to work with local designers?
“Both Joh and I are really hot on waste, we don’t like to waste anything. When we use vintage fabric or whatever, you’ve got bits left over and they might be really funny shapes but often the pattern for the next thing comes out of what was left. We’re always trying to make sure we use up everything and make it as waste free as possible. We don’t see the point of buying in loads of designers from elsewhere when they’ve got to ship it, which creates huge wastage. We’d rather support local. There’s so much talent in Bristol, why do we need to go elsewhere?”

What do you love about Bristol?
“I came to Bristol when I was deeply a hip hop head. I was just obsessed with hip hop culture and I still am. I think once you’ve got that in your system you don’t let go, hip hop culture informs everything I do. Bristol had a lot of hip hop going on back then, although now the scene everywhere is in a bit of dire straits. But Bristol has remained exciting because it’s always got a big music thing going on and it’s got a lot of creativity. I’ve just never got bored of it. It has an influx of new people all the time so it doesn’t feel like it gets old. There’s always new stuff, new people.”

Get Dutty at their website. Check out their two favourite Bristol creative people below.

Shout out #1: Daddison

Dave Addison, often known as Daddison, moves in the somewhat interconnected circles of art, graphic design, illustration, web design and product creation. He’s also a visual artist and art director at design agency All That Good Stuff.

What inspires you and what makes you unique?
“I try not to pay too much attention to the scenes I operate in because they subconsciously enter my own work. Recently I’ve been checking for stuff like William Morris & that whole pre-Raphaelite/arts and crafts movement. I travel around lots so drinking and partying in different places fills your head with new ideas all the time. Because I do so many different things they all feed into each other; my art is quite design-influenced and my design often references art in a way, whether aesthetically or conceptually. I also do a lot of stuff by hand where possible, which helps bring my personality through.”

What do you love about Bristol?
“Having just moved back here after a couple of years in Berlin I have really been reminded of how how close everyone people are here. Everyone seems to know each other and work together even if they’re from completely different creative fields. You cant help but bump into people you know or be introduced to new people with different projects.”

Check out more from Daddison at his website.

Shout out #2: Puckoo Couture

Puckoo Couture is a fashion label for forward thinking individuals that throws out mad colour. Everything from their wonderfully psychedelic range is designed and made in their Bristol studio and is 100% sweatshop production free.

What sort of things inspire you, and what influences do you draw on with Puckoo?
“I’m massively inspired by movies, when I design a collection there’s usually a weird or random story that goes with it. It helps me to visualise the collection and the look I’m trying to achieve rather than just trying to make items I know that will sell. I see fashion as more of an art form and an extension of my personality.”

What do you love about Bristol?
“I do love Bristol, I feel I can be more of an individual here without too much judgment! It is a very creative city full of artists but I would love to see more of a fashion scene here… but I’m working on it!”

Bring the colour at the Puckoo Couture website.

Stay locked for more rad independent culture from Bristol over the next few weeks.