21 - The brand that is changing fashion. The fashion that is changing mental health - Will Middleton
It is no longer enough to just talk about the mental health crisis so h clothing is changing how we approach it.
We want every interaction with the brand to spread positive mental health awareness.
Together we have to build a community that supports each other in our struggles, without leaving a single person behind.
When most people see or hear the phrase ‘mental health fashion brand’ it takes them a few seconds to register what it actually means. They ask things like “How do you combine mental health and fashion?” or “What does that look like on a t-shirt?” So often I come to the rescue and begin to explain how these two quite different concepts come together but I actually appreciate it because it immediately sparks interest in our story and talking about it is at the very crux of what the brand is all about.
Up until university I was quite ignorant about mental illness. As far as I was aware not many people I knew had one and I had never experienced it either. My world revolved around going out, having fun and drinking with mates, and just living a life similar to the people around me. Or so I thought. 75% of mental health difficulties develop before the age of 25 and, according to Student Minds, estimates of the prevalence of mental health difficulties among students range from around 1 in 3 to 1 in 5.
But I don’t want this piece to be a list of facts about how bad the situation is. I think most of us know how bad it is. Rather than sit back and accept I can’t change it, what I want to do is tell you how h clothing is changing how we talk about it and how we are going to improve awareness around mental health. And to do that I need to take you back a few years…
It all started because of my younger brother. He had experienced serious mental illness throughout his childhood and it was through him that I began to really understand what illnesses like depression and anxiety really were. He was incredibly creative and, while at fashion college back in 2019, for his final project, he created the idea to combine fashion with mental health as a way to encourage people to open up through the means of the clothes they wore. He created a magazine for it, showcased the clothes he made, got models wearing them and had ideas to create music festivals and other events as a way of bringing together this community he envisioned. It was an incredible piece of work, used as an exemplar at his college and we all told him that one day he should pursue it, turning it into a real life brand.
Well that project has become the foundation of what is now h clothing but sadly I am not doing it alongside him. I am doing it on behalf of him. Due to a tragic accident he passed away shortly after submitting his project. Despite having to bring up something so personal when I talk about the brand, it’s so important for me to let people know why I started it and where it has come from. It is a legacy to him but also a way to make sure that no person experiences mental illness alone, something he always strived for. When I thought about taking this on, there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation about whether the purpose behind the brand and the vision he had would carry forward. I believe in it enough to know I can bring others along with me.
And it is through the h clothing community that we are going to do this. It is at the centre of this entire brand and through the clothes we make, the people we bring together and the support we give each other, we want to create the strongest mental health community in the world. The way that will manifest itself is something that must be organic for it needs to come from the community itself. For some it may be through a social media page, for others it may be a meet-up. The point is there are no boundaries for how we can develop it. We want this to always be a two-way street where our customers, our followers or our community members can contribute their ideas, drive the inspiration behind the brand and help us to deliver our vision to make sure we are supporting those around us.
At h clothing, we want to make clothes that people feel confident and represented in. We want to empower people to make changes with regards to looking after themselves and their mental health. It is about scratching beneath the surface of who we are and being open with each other, understanding that everyone is fighting their own inner battles and to allow each other to open up about them as and when it feels right. Our clothes are a chance for people to wear their heart on their sleeve but in a way that doesn’t make them feel uncomfortable to do so.
Opening up about mental illness, as many will know, is an incredibly difficult thing to do. You know it will change how people will treat you, you feel like they won’t really get it and therefore it’s just easier to keep it a secret. Sadly too many of us suffer in silence due to the negative stigma that still surrounds the disease. h clothing is breaking down that barrier and making sure no one feels the need to hesitate when coming forward with what they are going through because they know on the other side is a community of like-minded people, who will do whatever is necessary to be that point of support.
I really hope that anyone who comes into contact with the brand however that may be, whether through social media, the website, in person, through word of mouth, I do hope that they walk away with something impactful whether that is a piece of clothing, a message to spread or an attitude to adopt. This brand will thrive off of the community it builds and we want to emphasise the two-way street that is needed to do this.
Sustainability and ethics are embedded in the day to day culture of the brand too, not just the products. We aim to grow while reducing our environmental impact. We focus a lot on the sustainability side of it because that is incredibly important to me and I'm always open to finding out new and better ways to do things related to it. You can’t be mental health focused if you know the people making your clothes are being treated unethically or your production is further damaging our planet. Eco-anxiety is a huge thing nowadays and although we’re not perfect, at least we will always strive to be better.
There are so many ideas in the pipeline which I am so excited to launch and I know more will come from the community itself, as it already has. It can be an incredibly daunting thing to take on a business, particularly by yourself, but at no point have I felt like I’m really doing this alone. With mental health services at breaking point, it is in everyone’s interest to tackle the crisis and h clothing wants to be at the forefront of that movement.
Fashion can give people a dream, it can be a vehicle for hope as we have seen in the past, which is exactly what my younger brother envisioned as he created the bridge between clothing and mental health. Making progress starts with just one person; after that, all that matters is that anyone else who joins does so with the same belief that my younger brother had and that I now have. Become part of the brand, join the movement and make a difference.
