Rory Hinshelwood studies Zoology with Spanish at Sussex. His brand is called Poplar St., at the moment the brand sell embroidered high-quality t-shirts. Rory works mostly in graphics to support the brand with advertising and the designs themselves.
Please introduce your brand
Poplar St. is named after a Glass Animals song. I particularly like the sound of their newest album and I liked the possibilities of creating a fictional place. So Poplar St. has become just that, a fictional place where weird, wacky and wonderful things live or are found.
What is the inspiration behind Poplar Street?
Music has a lot of influence on my work. I like a lot of different genres but Calvin Harris’ ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1’ (weirdly classed as disco funk) takes the cake for me. I loved its energy, I even created a graphic for each song on the album. My work is also influenced by the pop culture that music creates.
How do you incorporate photography and film into your brand?
I’m not much good a film myself. I use it a little when making promos but I haven’t really ventured much into that world yet. Photography, however, I am very keen about. I use it in almost every aspect of my brand. It was also one of the first creative things I learned to use, so I guess my photography encourage everything else – which lead to the brand.
What attracts you to graphic design over other forms of design?
I’ve always wanted to be able to draw but I was never any good at it. Photoshop and illustrator allow me to draw on my computer and I’ve actually managed to get quite good at it. So really, graphics was a natural progression. I like the way they look especially the colours and how easy it is to tweak.
Are you conscious of the unisex nature of your clothing?
Yes, I am actually. I never saw the point in only selling to one market and so I tried to make my brand appeal to both genders. When I did market research on the top 10 designs I was going to do. There was a clear difference between what boys and girls preferred so I chose designs to please both parties and it’s worked out quite well.
Who would be your dream ‘muse’ to model your clothing?
This is a hard choice, but I really look up to Ashton Sanders (Moonlight) as a fashion idol. His style is dynamic and fresh; he is pushing the bounds of what you can wear. So for him to put one of my t-shirts on would be pretty incredible.
Finally, what are your plans for the future of Poplar St.?
I definitely plan to change up the product. I’m looking into a range of different options including jumpers, polo necks, and hats. Although what I really want to do is design a shoe, I’m looking into this and might have a couple of contacts. If they come through then that would be the next step. To show that the brand is serious.
At the moment, the t-shirts can be bought at www.roryhinshelwood.co.uk/poplar-st or contact Rory through our Instagram @poplar.street
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/250203075
Words: Louisa Hunt
