Written by Menswear Style in Interviews on the 1st March 2022

Mickey Ellis launched HIT and RUN as the antithesis to what he saw as a creatively barren and the environmentally devastating fast-fashion industry. Having launched his first of numerous independent clothing brands back in 2003 he understood the challenges. The business was created to enable and promote the voices of the creatives striving to make a positive impact and to make some good t-shirts. The brand's aim is to promote artistic expression and cultural awareness while ensuring a minimal environmental impact. Every collection on HIT and RUN is designed by someone who wants to make a difference and to inspire others with their message. They have sourced the best garment suppliers who have transparent supply chains and ensure wages and working conditions are superior to local standards. The garments are then printed and despatched from London.

In a recent episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interviewed Mickey Ellis, Founder of HIT and RUN about his fashion entrepreneurship journey which led him to his latest brand idea combining art and clothing. Our host Peter Brooker and Mickey talked about fast-fashion, artist curation, sustainability, made to order manufacturing, screen printing vs digital printing, how London's creativity districts have moved on, and how prior brand Polari went viral among the LGBT community after a recent relaunch.

“I've been in the in the fashion and art industry since I began my career. I first moved to London straight from university and that's when my love of fashion started. I was always interested in style, but my interest in proper fashion began when I started my first brand with a friend. We were just a couple of young and drunk creative people who decided to start a t-shirt brand. We had no idea what the heck we were doing. But suddenly, we had Japanese stores knocking down our door and buying our products. And it just kind of kicked me into the love of creation at that point. It was more the artistry and using t-shirts and garments as a canvas to express art and artistic expression, rather than a love of sort of pattern cutting or anything like that. It was more the subculture, youth, energy, and passion. That was the exciting thing for me.”

This is a shortened transcribed edit of episode 159 of the MenswearStyle Podcast with Mickey Ellis, Founder of hitandrun.ltd. You can listen to the full version on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

We discuss working with artists, making t-shirts, and sustainable clothing with Mickey Ellis, founder of HIT and RUN for our podcast show.