A youth worker from Seven Kings is finding success with his urban fashion brand.
Zed Malik, 24, who works for Redbridge Council, set up Paper Chase in the early months of 2013 and has not looked back since.
He said: “I am very proud and happy as my brand has had orders from quite a few places all over the world – Switzerland, the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and a weird one, Kazakhstan. I am excited for the future.”
The brand came about after Mr Malik studied a design course at the University of East London, which he recently completed.
It gave him a chance to indulge his interest in drawing and also hone the computer skills he now uses to maintain his website.
Paper Chase was born because the student “had a lot of time and wanted to do something with it”.
It features items such as beanies, hoodies, T-shirts and sweaters, with the designs catching the attention of celebrities including One Direction star Zayn Malik, and his family, and recent X Factor contestant Tamera Foster.
But don’t expect to see the garments in shops any time soon.
Mr Malik said: “I’m trying to build a brand, so I don’t want to devalue it by making it accessible and easy for people to buy.
“I want it to be difficult for people to get hold of; it makes it more exclusive.
“Normally when I do something for work or have some sort of achievement I let everybody know, but this time around I didn’t tell my family.
“I think if you tell someone something is yours it won’t sell as much. If you keep it more mysterious they will want to find out more about it.”
Visit www.onachase.com to take a look at the designs.
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