Grey Milk, the Manchester-based independent clothing brand born in lockdown, has launched a second collection just in time for autumn.
After the overwhelming success of Grey Milk’s first collection (which appeared in quarantine), the brand has amassed 17.5k followers on Instagram; creating great anticipation for a new range.
The brand has become known for its retro designs and girly prints – and Grey Milk’s second set has officially been confirmed as the ‘Wildflowers’ collection.
“I didn’t expect at all the first range to blow up the way it did” says Gwen, who singlehandedly runs Grey Milk.
But whilst the success was rewarding, she was also worried that it may be a one-off due to more people being active online during the lockdown.
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When creating the second range, Gwen continued with the brand’s iconic girly prints and retro designs. She also decided to play with some new colour palettes and made the iconic milk carton graphic a staple print for the garments.
“I started out quite anxious and overwhelmed in terms of do I just stick with what works, do I do something new, do I take a risk…?” she wondered.
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“I just dropped all of that and just decided I need to just go with my gut and do stuff that feels really fun and new.”
The Wildflowers collection’s influences are clear in the forest green of the Orla Dress or the added layer of warmth provided by the Jerry Tights.
Yet, each piece still contains Grey Milk’s signature vibrant and upbeat designs as Gwen wanted to create transitional pieces that “give people a way to dress colourfully but also warmly”.
Gwen is not only the creative force behind Grey Milk but responsible for everything – from manufacturing and shipping the garments to promoting them on social media.
Rather than being constantly open for orders, she has decided to limit the Wildflowers collection through a series of drops, allowing her more time to create each item to perfection.
“I’m really keen to help people understand that waiting a few weeks for a garment shouldn’t be unusual,” Gwen told us.
“We’ve got so used to expecting things to arrive the same week or the next day, and not a lot of people know how much work goes into making quality clothes”
The overwhelming success of Grey Milk shows how independent online brands are continuing to gain popularity whilst high street stores are struggling as a result of the pandemic.
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The next drop of Grey Milk’s Wildflowers collection is on 30 September at 8pm BST.
Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
Style
Keo play Projekts: garage and grunge revivalists crush Manchester skatepark for new music video
Danny Jones
This past Thursday evening, fast-rising rock band Keo took over Projekts MCR skatepark for a special pop-up gig and to film a brand-new music video for their latest single, ‘Pistol’, starring some of their biggest fans here in Manchester.
In fact, it didn’t take long for us to suss out that plenty of them had flocked from far and wide to be there, and let’s say we’re sure they’ll say it was worth the journey.
We caught Keo’s well-attended festival set inside the Woodlands at Kendal Calling 2025, not to mention their completely sold-out show at the O2 Ritz back in March – their biggest headline date up to that point – and we’re more certain than ever that they’re going to be absolutely massive.
And if they keep up doing more memorable stuff like this, it’s just a matter of how soon…
Packing out Projekts to the point that people were literally hanging off fences and standing on electrical boxes at the side of the street to try and get a peek at the post-punk, grunge and garage rockers, some of their most enthusiastic young fans had been waiting outside the location as early as noon.
For context, doors opened six hours later, and the boys didn’t come on until 7:30pm.
Those who signed up to Keo‘s mailing list were sent information regarding securing a spot at the one-off performance earlier this month.
While you would have seen the place fill up even if they were just standard concert tickets, the fact that the band were taping the whole thing to use as the visuals for their newest single, as mentioned, meant that Keo’s avid followers were literally clamouring AND clambering to get the best view position possible.
Turning the popular skaters’ hub’s central bowl into a makeshift stage, with lights, camera, booms and various crew surrounding the entire venue, it was a surreal experience to say the least.
And, of course, they were absolutely brilliant – just as they were at the Ritz at the start of the year and Kendal before that, playing a short but sweet set that left everyone wanting more and choruses of punters chanting Keo long after the final song.
We can’t wait to see how the video itself turns out, especially seeing how much the people who wrapped around them and the skatepark were lost in the moment, and we’re also looking forward to them headlining Neighbourhood Fest in Manchester city centre this October.
You can grab a ticket to see them and the rest of the NBHD lineup right HERE, but until then, give the full studio version of ‘Pistol’ a play and get ready for their debut album.
Daisy Bradbury -
10th September 2020 
