Interview: Ashley Budding at Messy Funk, Cheltenham

Messy Funk is a new alternative lifestyle clothing label that promises to democratise dressing, breaking people out of their niches with universally searable style. With DJs like Calvertron and Datsik already signed up to sponsor the brand and with props from style blog Brand Neusense 18-year old Ashley Budding, the entrepreneur who set up the label single handed, looks set to see the project be a big success.

Holly Knowlman, the editor of the Creative Boom Cheltenham hub, collared Ashley to find out more:

Hi Ashley! Could you start by telling us how you founded the label and where the idea for Messy Funk came from?

I couldn’t stand school… I’m not academic whatsoever so I left pretty quickly and worked in sales and marketing for a couple of years for a few different companies.
As I was working I was saving up some money and thinking ‘what could I do in life’… and the idea for Messy Funk just popped up. So I got the t-shirts sorted, started designing and just went from there.

Can you tell us a bit about the range?

The first collection is t-shirts and hoodies for men and women, all of which will feature the Messy Funk logo to try and get out there as much as possible. For range two which is coming out in March or April it’ll move into more quirky designs, as well as expanding to include slouch beanies. I’d also like to do Messy Funk lingerie, shirts and joggers in the future.

What other clothing labels do you particularly admire or emulate?

I like Superdry – the vision the brand and the fact they started from scratch is great. They’re also a label that’s grown to be very successful after starting off in Cheltenham.

What plans have you got for promoting the label?

We’ve already got sponsors lined up in loads of places, including South Africa, Canada, USA, and New Zealand. I’ve tried to pick DJs and musicians across lots of different genres. I don’t want Messy Funk to just appeal to one group of people – I’d rather have it as something that appeals to a wide range instead of tied to one particular genre of music.

Who else would you like to see wearing your clothes?

I’d have to go for the big names. I’d definitely like to see some people in the R&B scene wearing Messy Funk clothes. I’m going to go for JLS too – you’ve gotta try it and see what happens!

Have you always been into designing and making clothes?

I’ve been interested in fashion since a young age, but the idea of designing myself didn’t arrive until much later on.

Why did you pick Cheltenham as the place to launch Messy Funk?

I think Cheltenham is the perfect place to start something like this… apart from anything else there’s a fair bit of cash here. Plus I haven’t seen too many clothing launch parties here so it’ll be good to put on something a bit different.

I noticed you’ve already got a few thousand fans on Facebook – is that because of promotion you’ve done yourself or was it all word of mouth?

I haven’t spent a penny on marketing yet! Although a lot of help has come from the sponsors. They all have the Messy Funk logos on their websites and on flyers and other promotional material which has really alerted people to the label’s existence.

For more details, check out the Messy Funk clothing range.