Business of Hype: Alexandra Hackett
Business of HYPE is a weekly series brought to you by HYPEBEAST Radio and hosted by jeffstaple. It’s a show about creatives, brand-builders, entrepreneurs and the realities behind the dreams they’ve built. For today’s episode, we sit down with multi-faceted designer Alexandra Hackett, aka Mini Swoosh, of Studio ALCH.
During her early days at University, the Australian-born, London based creative began deconstructing and repurposing everything from Nike duffel bags to NASA space foil to create one-of-a-kind articles of clothing. After making a capsule collection with GR8, she relocated to London where she worked at Footpatrol, all the while balancing side gigs and growing her brand Studio ALCH.
It wasn’t till a couple years ago, that Alex began showcasing more her personal work under the Mini Swoosh moniker. While Studio ALCH is the overarching brand that shows at London Fashion Week and has wholesale business, Mini Swoosh falls under the reconstructive division of her brand. Both projects have given proper fuel to her larger mission of “exploring the process of deconstruction and reconstruction to extend the lifespan of pre-existing products.” Alex says Mini Swoosh is almost like an homage to Nike, along with her fervent love for bootlegging and good design.
“I love the idea of a logo that transcends language and boundaries. It can displace how people feel or react. I love that I can take something that is authentic and make it into something that is no longer considered authentic.”
In addition to these projects, Alex also participated in Nike’s 2017 Vote Forward Challenge alongside Sean Wotherspoon. The notable press allowed her to build a relationship with Nike and has since worked on commissioned-based projects. While she’s spent years juggling these various endeavors, she most recently has focused full time on her brand. Studio ALCH and Mini Swoosh are more than just reupholstered designs, they represent a new direction of sustainable fashion.
“The best thing to do with fashion is to make nothing new at all, but creating a business where the impact is low and seeing how we can create from preexisting products.”