Meet Reece Yeboah: The London designer behind the new menswear label to know

When Reece Yeboah received a call from his business partner one night in July 2019, he didn’t think much of it. It had been two years since the young London-based designer’s fashion label, Saint London, had gone from a mere idea to filling the racks at Selfridges and being worn by big name celebrities like Future, Gucci Mane and Lewis Hamilton. Little did he know that by the end of the call his world would have dramatically shifted.

Yeboah was always into clothes. His mother dressed him in brands like Prada, Moschino, GAP, Nike and Avirex from a young age, and he reminisces fondly about being stopped by older kids in his local area, each desperate to learn where he had picked up his latest piece from. Inspiration came not only from home but from across the pond too, the designer cites the always-fashionable then N.E.R.D frontman Pharrell Williams as someone he looked up to when he was growing up. “Me and my mate Christian tried to replicate him by starting a brand called Pirate Boyz Club, which failed terribly but I guess it’s the thought that counts,” he laughs.

Yeboah decided to take the plunge in 2013 - he dropped out of college and, with the help of his mentor Katy Lavett, Saint London was born. “The story behind Saint London and the name behind it stems from feeling like a underdog and a black sheep, hence the black and white colour scheme,” he explains.

“The ‘Saint’ represents who I am as a person within my community and social groups, overcoming very difficult circumstances, avoiding death and jail,” he continues. “Adding the ‘London’ was the icing on the cake, bringing a sense of heritage and paying respects to the city which raised me.” The name was accompanied by the age-old Fleur-de-lis symbol, chosen for its association with themes of honour, faith and unity.

They say you make your own luck, and — while the brand quickly began gaining traction in Yeboah’s community and online — it was chance encounter on the street that lead to an introduction to Sebastian Manes & Jack Cassidy [Selfridges’ Buying and Merchandising Director and Head of Menswear Buying respectively], and the rest was history. Just like that, Saint London was being stocked in Selfridges – one of the first independent London streetwear labels to be stocked in the iconic department store.

For a while, things seemed to be too good to be true for Yeboah and his fledgling brand. As is often the case with this type of instant success, things began to snowball very quickly for Saint London. In no time, glitterati from both sides of the pond were sporting his designs. “I’ll never forget the gut feeling when I saw Lewis Hamilton and Future wearing my clothes,” he says.

Then, one warm night in June 2019, his dream was shattered. Yeboah had just returned home from a gym session when he received a call from his business partners, asking him to come to the office for a chat. He was informed that a cease and desist letter had been sent from the NFL (The USA’s National Football League) about the name Saint London and the use of the Fleur-de-lis in his logo.

Since 2007, the NFL has played some of its games in London. A quick scan down the league’s list of teams reveals the likely motivation of the NFL’s cease and desist attempt, the combination of New Orleans’ team name — the Saints — and their Fleur-de-lis symbol evidently deemed enough by the organisation to pursue the independent young label with all its might.

“The panic and shock sunk in a few days later after realising the seriousness of what a cease and desist letter meant,” Yeboah recalls. “I questioned why this had happened several times with zero response from the NFL’s representatives. After spending all of my money on legal feels, business consultancy and intellectual property advice, I ran out of funds.”

Though time has passed, the confusion still haunts Yeboah. “To this day I’m still very much confused about why a small west London brand was picked on by such giants,” he says. “I became very sick, often not eating and socialising with people, which had a very huge impact on my mental health as fashion is major stress reliever for me. I use fashion as a voice to help me defeat stereotypical judgement, so to have someone take that away from me broke my heart.” The NFL has been contacted for comment.