Stuart Trevor

Published: 20/03/2025

‘Shop till you drop’ is a mantra that fashion designer Stuart Trevor has called time on. He was so passionate about this, that for many years he was adamant that he wouldn’t start another fashion brand. Whenever the creative was asked, his retort was simply: “The world doesn’t need a new clothing company.” 

His reasons for this are based on an oversupply of clothing in the world. He points out that landfills are piling up with clothing as high as Mount Everest. Stuart believes there’s so much clothing in the world that around six or seven generations could go without producing any new garments and there’d still be enough clothing to go around in the world.  

There’s plenty of stats to back him up. According to one blog the world is consuming 400% more than it did just two decades ago and the fashion industry now emits around 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.  

Before embarking on his mission to change the world of fast fashion, Stuart had an extensive career that took many twists and turns. 

Inspired by rock

Born in Scotland on 29 November 1966, Stuart graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 1988. Initially, he wanted to be a rockstar just like his idol, David Bowie, but his career was set to go down a different path.

In the 1980s he won several fashion competitions including the Paul Smith/Mont Blanc competition where he was a finalist. In 1985, he won designer of the year at The Smirnoff Fashion Awards “Menswear Day”.

His career really took off when he became the first Head of Menswear Design and Buying at the UK brand Reiss at the age of 19, where he produced the brand’s first ever collection.  The brand, which was founded by British businessman David Reiss secured its place on the high street for years to come after that. Stuart says: “David gave me unbelievable drive and determination to succeed with whatever is thrown at me.”

Stuart still got his rock star exposure, but in a different way. Instead of creating music and playing to the crowds he created fashion for people and bands that sold out concerts like Roger Daltrey from the Who, the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Gwen Stefani and Destiny’s Child to name but a few.  
 
In the 1990s, Stuart founded AllSaints, the name of which was inspired by The Saint played by Roger Moore in the 1960s TV series and All Saints Road where Stuart spent a lot of his time. The brand became extremely popular as kids competed to get their hands on his affordable leather jackets and grunge pieces. After selling AllSaints in 2006 he launched Bolongaro Trevor with his ex-partner Kait Bolongaro.

Saving the world

After selling Bolongaro Trevor, Stuart remained firm with his pledge not to add to the landfill piles until one day it occurred to him that he could start his own fashion label without producing any clothes. He explains the idea was inspired through two passions: having fun and trying to save the planet. He realised that while there’s no way to stop people buying clothes designers could do more to encourage people to buy something that already exists.  

Now the business is garnering more interest and driving more people to buy upcycled designs. “I feel the best is yet to come. I’m building this business but in the last six months it’s become mental. I am having fun and enjoy what I’m doing and want to encourage more people to move away from fast fashion, huge corporations and billionaires. It’s our duty to support sustainable businesses and support small businesses! Don’t buy from big corporates who don’t have our best interests at heart.”

When asked what advice he’d share with others who want to create their own business, Stuart highlights the importance of time and commitment: “Running your own business you have to be so dedicated and hardworking. Sometimes it’s all encompassing and you don’t have holidays. If you don’t have that drive and determination, you won’t’ succeed. You should choose something you really love as you’ll be doing it every day.” 

Stuart didn’t expect to start a business again, but then he started mentoring startups that had a positive environmental impact. He adds: “My kids were young, aged six and three ad they were at school. I’d be bored and call my friends to go for lunch, but they’d be working. There’s only so many times you can go to museums and galleries. So, I felt I needed to be occupied. I think it’s important to find something to give you some sort of income stream after you have sold your business and then find something you really love and invest in that."

Now Stuart’s career is driven by his commitment to sustainability and creativity. What makes it a success is his ability to adapt to market trends while staying true to his passion and care for the environment. His influence continues to shape the fashion industry, inspiring established and emerging talents.