Hypebeast Flea: AELIZA

AELIZA’s mission statement is what leads to the brand’s ethos: “a dialogic study of the autonomous individual.” In short, the London-based brand creates clothes for its wearers to embrace themselves and feel secure in their individuality.

Co-founded by Jack Harper and Nosa Aiworo, AELIZA’s frequently-presented collections are often packed with ready-to-wear hoodies, trousers, shorts, and tracksuits. Its styles are titled “Introspection,” with the brand’s slogan and motifs emblazoned on T-shirts that encourage wearers to “THINK MORE.” 

And while the brand often stands up for the people that invest — with its recently-held “Book For A Bag” campaign being a stellar example — AELIZA also gives opportunities to rising talent, such as UK rappers, Lord Apex and Vinch, who have been featured in various projects from the brand in recent times.

Now, AELIZA is prepping for its soon-to-open stall at Hypebeast Flea, where the imprint’s classic styles and motifs will be there for all to see.

Check out our conversation with AELIZA ahead of Hypebeast Flea below. Tickets to Hypebeast Flea are free! Don’t forget to sign up here now.

Hypebeast: Explain your brand to people who may not know you yet.

AELIZA is a dialogic study of the autonomous individual. In broader terms, that means through discussion, we explore what it means to be a free individual. This actually stemmed from my dissertation whilst at university six years ago. We call ourselves ‘AELIZA’ based on a computer called ‘Eliza’ which was a 1960s computer psychotherapist that would flip everything you said into the program back into the form of a question. You were effectively talking to yourself. Extracted from Adam Curtis’s 2016 documentary ‘Hypernormalisation’ he summarises Eliza perfectly:

“In an age of individualism, what makes people feel secure is having themselves reflected back to them, like in a mirror.”

We just added this at the end of it:

“AELIZA is that mirror.”

What’s the journey been like from starting your brand, to where you are today?

What’s been important for me and Nosa from the start is that what we believe is the spine of what we do, and that can not be compromised. We both had relative experience in the industry prior to forming AELIZA, however as it started during the second lockdown during covid. The industry changed a lot, so with that being said, we have had to really go with it and continually shift how to make this work during an uncertain time. Which, at the same time, has been extremely exciting as the rule book got chucked out the window. There were all of a sudden no rules. We’ve seen that as an opportunity to pursue what we believe in, with no doubt that that’s the right thing to do.

It started with basically me being in South London and Nosa being in North West, Facetiming every day from pretty much the second release onwards. A year later, we got our own studio space in Brixton as a result of persistence and pure graft every day. We just got back from Paris after our first showroom.

Overall the journey has not been easy because what we feel like we’re pushing is extremely unique in its message, and when you’re trying to break something new into the culture. It takes people time to look around and say hey. But that’s okay, we understand that. AELIZA, for us, is still at a hustle phase, but we’re at this nice tipping point where we feel like a lot will change for us in the greatest of ways. Persistence got us here.

Flea is going to be hosted for the first time in the UK. How does the UK’s creative community inspire you and your brand?

You can’t have individuals without community. There’s a duality in that sense. Even though we push individualism as a topic, we know how much the UK creative community has inspired us before, and along the way, not only from an inspiration pov, we feel the support from many people within that we’re extremely grateful to be a part of this community.

I believe that creatively speaking, the UK is becoming such a world leader. The world looks at us (The UK) right now. And in years to come, I think this will only continue to grow and flourish. I think what’s inspiring me currently from others within the community is the range that we cover. No one is trying to fill the same position on the pitch. It feels like everyone has their own unique angle, which feels authentic from the outside looking in. People do what feels right for them.

What have you got planned at Hypebeast Flea?

We’re using this as an opportunity for people to see our clothes in person for the very first time.

The way we make our clothes is very much at the top from a conceptual, quality, and sustainability standpoint, but unfortunately, no matter how you convey that via social media: The In real life, try before you buy experience will never be beaten. It’s something we value extremely, and internally we feel a lot of gratitude for. What’s the difference between 100 likes on Instagram and 100 people in a room investing in what it is you believe in? There is a massive difference.

The brief we’ve given ourselves is to bring the outdoor experience indoors. This actually stems from AELIZA’s first-ever release, which was a Rug. We see the Flea market as an opportunity to not only have a stall but a sensory installation of sort.

What other vendors are you looking forward to checking out at Hypebeast Flea? 

I’m excited to see what Cremate and Cent.ldn get up to. They cover a completely different sense which I’ve always admired. Excited to meet them!

It’s really nice to be a part of the same event as people such as Emay (Jehucal), Louis Holsgrove (Holsales), and Che and Ellis (SYC). To see everyone grow in their own right… it’s just humbling to be a part of!