Dunno Curated opened its doors on the 23rd of July, at one of our favourite spots, Berwick Street in Soho. The store is a new independent specialising in vintage clothing, reworked and upcycled workwear and streetwear, as well as a selection of sneakers and sought-after designers and brands. Their Instagram @dunnocurated followed the six month journey of setting up an independent business, showing the process of doing up the store, all the way through to the grand opening.
Set up by a tight knit group of friends, we met the young entrepreneurs COO Dylan Cross and CEO Jamie Cameron. We headed down with one of The Basements OG’s @youngnathanrosen, for a look round the store.
How you guys doing? Where did you grow up, and what you doing?
Yeah, doing great. It’s hard to believe our store, Dunno. Curated, is actually open and being so well received. We got going last Friday 23rd July after about 6 months of preparation and since then we’ve all legit been on cloud-9. We’re all a good group of friends. Dylan and I (Jamie) are from the Dublin-Wicklow border in Ireland, so is Spicebag our graphic designer. Imogen Ivy, Head of Content, is from Australia. Filipp, Software Developer/General Tech lad, is Russian. Lydia, Zak, and a bunch of the others are English. Led by Dylan and I, we’re Dunno. Curated. A new vintage, upcycling and sneaker store on Berwick St.
It’s so good to see a group of friends running something like this. You guys are young and so humble, and I don’t feel we see enough of that in this industry. What was your first introduction to streetwear culture?
Growing up in Ireland, we didn’t have the same access and nearby reference points as you do here. Sure, as time went on we got one or two stores like Saint St. Sneakers in Dublin which gave Irish kids the access and information that Duke’s Cupboard does. But on a whole, we’re definitely behind and so the internet was our portal. First, it was the music; Rap, Grime, and Hip Hop as a whole which led to an interest in sneakers. Next came learning about Supreme, Palace, Stussy, Patta and the likes which ultimately was the final straw in us caring about fashion as a whole. At Dunno, we call ourselves ‘Grown Up Streetwear.’ Which to us, just means less over branding, combining designer with truly vintage bits and not just hyping sneakers. Sure, sneakers are our first love but since bankers (and the likes) started treating sneakers as commodities – we reckon the culture is pivoting into a more holistic, classically influenced style. Something we would love to be a part of.
I like that.. Grown Up Streetwear. Why did you set it up, and what can people expect when coming to the store?
Sincerely, we set it up to follow our collective dreams – as mushy as that may sound. Living, working, and just being in Soho everyday is a literal dream come true. Hopefully, as time goes on, we can add something to this community and find our place as a young independent business where everyone is in their 20s. In terms of what people can expect, a curated, well-priced vintage store with upcycled streetwear and workwear. Plus, some hard-to-find sneakers we get on resell at ‘market rates’ – unfortunately! We’d love to sell them cheaper but for now, it is what it is.
Why Berwick Street?
Because it’s the historical centre of the centre of the universe; Soho. Being on this street, building out the score from scratch, we got to speak with all the old-timers who remember the heyday of the market. Before the gentrification and government intervention, which took away so much of what supposedly made this street great. That said, we hope to be a small force in the positive direction. Doing everything we can to promote businesses like The Blue Post, Flat White, Violets/Med Cafe, Reign, The Jerk Drum, So High Soho, Folk, and all the others we’re delighted to be neighbours with. Plus directly below us, lies the famous Berwick St Studios. Previously, home to David Bowie, Sting and The Police, Beyoncé, The Sex Pistols, Oasis, Amy Winehouse and too many others to mention. It’s so surreal to say that too, sincerely humbling.
(Laughs) Yeah Soho… it is the centre of the universe. So who are your main influences at the moment?
On the wall as you walk in, we have a small poster highlighting the people, businesses and entities that inspired us to get here. As it says, this is not an original idea, and actually, I’ll just show you the poster.
That said, The Basement and the community you guys have made is definitely right up there.
What’s next?
Survival is the only goal. We’re having the time of our lives and so, just continuing to do what we started is the strategy. Whether that be events, new upcycled products, our own merch and continuing to get good vintage to sell at great prices, that’s the plan. Doing all that, we hope we can remain in this community for as long as possible.
Go visit the Dunno store at 8 Berwick Street, Soho. Go support independent, support a group of entrepreneurs in their 20’s, support Soho Businesses… always.
