About us
Since we started the brand really, we have received many requests to find out a little more background info on why we started the brand, who we are and the journey so far...
Me and my brother founded ARNE in 2018, well actually, I owe everything to him for giving us both the jobs we’d always dreamed of. He was the risk taker and made the first moves of starting a clothing brand that has been the best, most exciting thing we have both ever done. Thanks again Brother.
We obsessed over creating & delivering the highest quality, considerably fitted, minimalistic pieces through an honest brand with a brilliant, clearly envisioned aesthetic (still a lot of work to do!). We were getting really frustrated that we couldn’t find these pieces anywhere to wear ourselves When we could picture what we wanted so clearly.
Our first product idea was something we had wanted for years ourselves, a slim-fit, jersey tapered trouser paired to a crew neck to match; creating our classic two-piece look. With inspiration taken from a classic track and field look from icons like Muhammad Ali, it was also just the two of us naturally wanting a clean, well fitted two piece for every day wear. A real smart casual look and feel that has since set the brands tone and identity.
Part of the whole look was how a tapered jogger would sit with trainers too. We have always been fanatical over what we wear on our feet and followed new footwear releases for years in online queues and going to the secondary markets, hence the constant posting of trainers and other brands on our Instagram page for the first 2 years of the brands existence! It is genuinely unbelievable to us that we sell our own footwear now and it never ever gets old seeing orders of them getting packed up in the warehouse ready to be shipped out. We hope you like them as much as we do!
Once we had decided what we wanted to create, we spent pretty much a year together, in each other’s bedrooms in Mum’s bungalow searching for suppliers, perfecting samples, planning and we finally got the right sample when my brother FaceTimed me on my way home from work one night to show off his new tapered, jersey tracksuit! We absolutely loved it and had created exactly what we wanted. Not many things have compared to that feeling since and we both remember it like it was yesterday. To still sell the same style of tracksuit today two years on is great to us, we love our jersey collection!
From there we placed our first order and eventually started to ship orders from our Mum’s bungalow with close friends and family helping out now and again (our first two employees). One of us was a full-time truck driver & qualified joiner working for a timber company for 9 years fresh out of school. The other in University studying a Masters degree after completing a degree in Psychology & Criminology whilst working in a psychiatric hospital. One of us more of a thinker and the other a “get stuff done”! It became difficult to balance work, University & ARNE altogether so eventually we decided to go for it even more. We left our full time jobs before both going full time with ARNE. Our mum finally had her house back after we took over almost the whole ground floor with stock!
From there we moved into a small shop in a nearby town on a high street. The shutters were always down and the neighbours wondering what actually went on in there probably! We had some stressful late nights there looking back now. Post-release nights, when our website used to crash and we would be calling our server provider all night long; if anyone is reading this and was in those queues to make an order, thank you for your patience!!
The shop was only a small space and after a while it got tiresome and inconvenient always carrying boxes of stock off delivery trucks into the basement where we held storage. I think the final straw (for me anyway) could have been carrying around 50 boxes down to the basement in the snow!! The next step was a warehouse which we continue to dispatch from now, as well as basing our small, tight-knit team from.
Now, we find ourselves at a stage where we want to keep creating clothes and shoes that you and all at ARNE love, whilst constantly learning and improving ARNE, ourselves, and the team.
Lots more ups and downs have happened in-between and we could go into much more depth but for now we’ll keep it short and sweet as our start-up story. We will add to this as the journey continues but for now, take care and thank you for your support as this brand really wouldn’t be anything without you buying our product, supporting us on social media, browsing our website and sharing our brand with others so thank you.. it really does mean so much.
Onwards Me, my brother and all at ARNE
About us
You may or may not know that ARNE was founded by me and my brother.
One of us would think too much and didn’t take enough action (with a background in Psychology) and the other would always be much quicker in taking action (a bit harsh to say he doesn’t think!!) with a background in Joinery & HGV driving. A great combination at times!!
Anyway, we’ve both always loved design in general, and brother who is easy to act also (predictably) loves to get stuck in building things and getting his hands dirty.
This is where all of our in-house HQ and studio settings were born. All designed and the majority of the work built by my Brother.
We’ve always built our own office and HQ from being back in our Mum’s bungalow, to the shop on the high street and to the small warehouse after that but since moving into the new warehouse back in February, we wanted to take it to the next level and although it is far from the largest, we wanted to create a working & studio space that was one of the best we’d seen in Fashion in the UK; something that me and the team would feel REALLY bad making un-tidy!!
The aim was to create something that would symbolise an ARNE flagship store.
Something that wouldn’t look out of place sat next to some of the largest fashion houses in the world, on some of the most well known streets in the world, but it would be right here in little Wigan.
Making the most of a natural concrete floor and importing his beloved steel, my brother and his pals who he knew from where he used to be employed went to work. Then, 10 months later and 70% over budget (nice one big brother) they managed to create this from complete scratch!
