'It's The Stories Behind What We Wear': 15 Minutes With Kai Collective's Fisayo Longe
The London-based women's wear brand founder on community, commerce and U.S. expansion.
Not all sample sales are created equal.
Some beckon with possibilities. Their racks and tables overflow with potential; Still-shiny items of season’s-end marked to deep discounts. And just as you're flipping through the options, fantasizing about a full wardrobe refresh – the last blouse in your size gets snatched! The disappointment after the gauzy hype.
Whether it's a packed blowout or a ghost town, the adrenaline of a New York City sample sale can (and will) shift from optimistic to fierce to scarce real quick. They can end up hoardy, hectic messes of overconsumption, sometimes even doused in shade-throwing microaggressions with just a dollop of stale hope on top. Even when static, it's a space of competition, not communion.
Earlier this month, Kai Collective touched down in NYC to change that. The London-based women's wear brand is, as founder Fisayo Longe says, “intentionally crafted to make women feel like their most confident selves.” Kai is an expression of joy, confidence and power and for it’s first-ever U.S. sample sale, the Nigerian-raised, London-based founder and her team made the occasion a communally empowering experience.
As a clothing line, Kai is opulent and audacious. Structural, radiant, playful and conversation-starting. A Kai piece is easy to spot because it gives its wearer main character energy every time, point-blank. The brand is billed as attainable luxury for its array of quality, avant garde pieces at mid-range prices. Whether billowing or cinched, a Kai Collective piece is a celebration of a body in motion; viscerally alive, piquantly present in the world. In a crowded fashion industry, Kai Collective, which launched in 2016, has gone viral many times over for its anti-trend divergence. Kai was recently dubbed the designer of the “Hottest Dress of the Summer” by British Vogue and was invited to showcase an exhibition of designs inside Christie’s London. In digital spaces, Kai has fostered community through collabs, a budding podcast and consumer spotlights with #TheKaiEffect. At the shopping event, the world of Kai finally got to manifest in a physical space.
The two-day event, perched in an upstairs suite above Manhattan’s buzzy SoHo neighborhood, attracted hundreds of U.S. clientele, some traveling in from New Jersey, Washington D.C. and even California to experience the Kai Effect IRL. IG friends met for the first time in line outside. Clouds of compliments floated around the shared dressing rooms. Women and men cheered on each other's exclusive finds of one-of-one pieces.
In a sub_stance exclusive interview before the doors officially opened for the weekend, Longe shared what sets the Kai Collective community apart, how an epiphany on a boat in Thailand sparked the brand and her goals to take Kai stateside by next year.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
SM: I love how you emphasize intention when describing your brand because that is really what I think of when I think of Kai Collective. This being the first US event ever and so much of your consumer base being from the US, New York especially, what was the intention behind why now?
FL: I think with everything, it's just timing. Is just when, you know, it all aligns. I very much believe in everything at the right time, and this year just felt like the right time. We have really felt like we can't let another year go by without having a US presence and a US pop up and doing something for our U.S. girlies, starting in New York, and then the plan is to go to different states. It just really, really felt right. I don't rush anything. But this was 2024 was the year.
SM: It was already on the vision board from last year?
FL: Absolutely.
SM: You do nothing without intention. You're a Virgo, right?
FL: I am.
SM: I am, too. We the best.
FL: [laughs] Twins!
SM: What does this sample sale signify for the journey of Kai?
FL: It's just the beginning of our U.S. expansion. As I said, the U.S. is our biggest customer base, and so it just signifies the beginning of us actually being here, like having a physical presence here. So Q1 next year, we'll have fulfillment here. Right now, everything gets shipped from London, but now we'll actually be shipping from the US, and this is just our first step towards expanding our US market, being more of a constant presence in the lives of our US customers and just conquering this new continent.
U.S. girlies love and I love U.S. girlies, but I think the brand just really resonates with American girls. Like it's very loud, it's very bold. Love London, love the British, but they're a bit more toned down, you know, it's a bit more like, I feel like here more is more. You can never be too much, whereas in London, it's a bit more, I don't know, like demure. [laughs]
Before we, launch any product we sample, we go through different iterations of samples. And so we have those, one of one samples here for sale. We also made a New York exclusive vest. Now, tank tops have become like a huge hit, so we did a red one exclusive to New York to kind of commemorate this moment.
SM: And for someone who doesn't know, what is the Kai effect?
FL: The Kai effect is the phenomenon that happens when a person wears Kai feels incredible, feels like the best version of herself, feels very confident, is not afraid to stand out, is not afraid to be the moment, does not try and shrink themselves. It always comes with compliments. It always comes with a stranger stopping you being like, “I love that. I love that. Where did you get that from?” So, that's just the Kai effect: It's a woman in her element, showing up, showing off, and not trying to make herself smaller to make anyone else feel more comfortable.
SM: A word! You are clearly a very confident woman, a confident human being. Where does your confidence come from?
FL: I think I had a really good childhood, a really good upbringing. I was raised thinking that I could be and do anything. I grew up in Nigeria, and my parents were amazing. My childhood was amazing. So I think a lot of it comes from that childhood of feeling limitless. I was never told that there was anything I couldn't do. There was a time where I used to go around saying I wanted to be the next president of Nigeria, and my parents were always like, yeah, sure, girl, you're gonna do it. Why not?
I think it's that I have a very, very confident, successful mom, and so I think that I always saw women in that light, and always just felt unstoppable. Just like my personal development, I just don't know any other way to be. We have one life, and I refuse to spend any of it feeling less than myself. I love myself, I trust myself, I believe in myself, and I show up in the world confident because I deserve to be here just as much as anyone else. I deserve to take up space just as much as anyone else, and I don't know any other way to be than to be confident and proud of that.
That's just the Kai effect: It's a woman in her element, showing up, showing off, and not trying to make herself smaller to make anyone else feel more comfortable.
SM: You see all the colors on these racks, you see all the sizes. I think that's another thing that makes Kai stand apart; The size range is very inclusive. There's a lot of New York sample sales and not everybody can find what they need, but this looks like a really well-stocked sample sale.
FL: That's the intention always. Yeah. We have to represent different women, and we want women to feel at home and feel like their priority to us.
SM: How do you describe the Kai collective as a community, and what makes it different from any other brand community?
FL: I think that we put out who we are, and the women that identify with that, the women that are either very confident or want to be, they understand the importance of self love, the importance of showing up as yourself, really gravitate towards us, and it's just a very welcoming community. There's no limitations based on race, gender, sexuality. Well, maybe a little bit of gender. We love women! [laughs] and it's more women who gravitate towards us. I think that because we put that out there in our campaigns, it's very inclusive. We've just fostered this real love, like it's just very tangible and it's just very welcoming. It's very much like you can sit with us. We just attract the best of women who want to look good and feel good and live big, impactful lives.
And we're just a community of women who ask a lot of ourselves and a lot from life, and are trying to achieve our dreams and look good while doing so.
SM: So then, how does your podcast, Only Feelings Are Real, feed into that community?
FL: Only Feelings Are Real is a new series we launched this year where we invite our Kai girls to just talk about the way they feel, to talk about their lives. I think that the name is very much because a lot of the time we don't acknowledge our feelings. A lot of the time we… To make other people feel more comfortable, to not face our pain, not face our trauma, we kind of diminish the way that we feel. Obviously, sometimes your feelings are actually not the reality but we can't not acknowledge our feelings. So, Only Feelings Are Real is a platform for people to share their stories.
We've told stories of love. We've told stories of different sexualities, monogamy, polyandry. Just different life experiences. It's just a place where the Kai girl can come and know that there are other people who share her experience and learn from people with a very different lifestyle to them.
I studied anthropology in school, so I love meeting people from a completely different background, with a completely different lifestyle. I want to learn more about people who don't believe in monogamy. I want to learn more about people who have different views on life, on God, who God is. What they believe in, what keeps them going in life. I just love the fact that we're all so different, and I love to foster a community where those differences are celebrated rather than criticized.
SM: What gave you the idea to start this new platform as an offshoot of the fashion brand?
FL: I think we use fashion as a conduit for self expression and self actualization. And so I just wanted to platform that more and have a vessel, a channel where we could tell all of those stories. I love clothes, love fashion. I will never diminish the importance of clothing and fashion, but for me, it's the stories behind what we wear. It's the stories behind our lives. That's what really, really gets me.
I will never diminish the importance of clothing and fashion, but for me, it's the stories behind what we wear.
SM: It’s clear you have big questions, and you follow those questions. That seems like a pattern in your life. You said you went to school for anthropology and I know before Kai, you were working as an accountant or auditor?
FL: Yes, an auditor for KPMG.
SM: Do you remember the moment that made you switch and literally change trajectories completely and follow your passion and self expression?
FL: I've always loved fashion. This summer I started auditing at KPMG, I also started a fashion blog. But for me, I'm a dreamer. I really love to, like, sit and think about my life and make plans, plan my next moves. And I was living on a boat in Thailand for a week just, I just took annual leave from work. This was when I worked at KPMG. I used to sleep on the deck of the boat, so I would wake up with the sun. It was actually a group trip, I didn't know anyone, it was like a random trip. I woke up one morning on the boat and I found that I couldn't really dream because I was stuck in this job that I really didn't enjoy. I loved the company, I loved the people, but the job itself was just not for me. It wasn't inspiring, and I really hated the fact that I couldn't dream, and so for me, I was like, ‘Yeah, I need to make a change. I need to be able to live a life where I wake up with the sun and plan my next moves, where I feel excited to get back to work. I need to build something that I really believe in.’
SM: How old were you at that time?
FL: When I left KPMG was 2014, so now we're 10 years ago. I was 22.
SM: Well, I hope you feel like you're living a dream right now. This space we're in is 100% like your brain child, your creation.
FL: It’s so surreal.
SM: Let’s pretend we are 48 hours in the future and the sample sale has ended. What is your definition of success for this sale?
FL: A sellout, money, lots of money! But also meet the Kai girls who live here, who have flown in from different parts of the states, Arizona, Houston, different parts of the states, to be with us. Celebrate this moment with us, meet everyone, hug everyone. And then also have the Kai girls meet each other and build friendships.
SM: Which city has better style, New York or London?
FL: [Laughs] It's tricky, because I haven't spent that much time here as an adult. I was here in June, and I just thought the New York girls are really, really stylish, but I do think London is different. I feel like I'm gonna go London, just because I love London. It's where I found my personal style. And I just have a really soft spot for London. But New York – people in New York, and not just the girls – are very, very stylish.
I went to a block party. Is that what you call them? In the summer in Brooklyn? In and I was like, wow, this is really interesting. And seeing the way people carry themselves, I really, really enjoyed it.
SM: Other than fashion, what is another form of culture that really fills you up?
FL: Oh! I love so many things, even though I can't do them. I really, really love athletes and athleticism. the discipline it takes, and just like the will and the sheer willpower to be able to wake up and perform and stretch your body to the highest level. So, I love athletes.
I love fashion, love music, love art, anything where people can show their passion.
SM: Lastly, creatively speaking, what do you need right now?
FL: I need rest. I really need rest, but it's okay. I'll get it very soon.
Not IRL
I’ve been too busy to consume every cultural nugget I want, but here’s a fast rundown of what I have:
Big Glo’s fresh, fervent, no-nonsense debut. Go head and add Gloria to the Memphis myroosic pantheon of greats right tf now.
When you see a Black Mirror episode about preventative botox piquing the end of human intimacy and procreation, just know that teleplay wrote itself.
A year into the genocide in Palestine, some of y’all really needed Ta-Nehisi to spell it out for you?! Welp…this Tech Won’t Save Us ep maps the new global tolerance for mass murder. Clock that tea.