INSIDE ADYN: INTERVIEW WITH ALPHA BADIO

With the recent release of the ELEMENT collection, ADYN catches the attention of many and leaves an impressive statement to wrap up the year of 2015. Make sure to continue below for the complete interview in its entirety to learn more about Alpha Badio and his role at ADYN and the inspiration behind the ELEMENT collection.

TH: First off, can we get a quick introduction for the people who may be unfamiliar? Name, age, & occupation?

Alpha: Hey man, first off thanks for this opportunity, my name is Alpha Badio and I am 28 [years old]. I am 1/3^rd of ADYN, we try and divide the workload but we all have a hand in designing. I normally take care of production, day-to-day running of the brand, and social media for the brand.

TH: Where are you currently living and where were you born?

Alpha: I am currently living in London and I was born in a small country in West Africa, called the Ivory Coast.

TH: I just learned that you attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado for your freshman year of college, is that right? Personally, I couldn’t believe it because I am currently a junior at Colorado State University and I always assumed you were from the UK. Tell me more about your college experience and how it impacted your decision in creating ADYN.

Alpha: Yeah, I was at Colorado State University my freshman year…it was a great time, so many parties in Fort Collins. I studied business there, [but] I ended up finishing my degree here in London. I always wanted to work or study in fashion but I guess I never thought it was a real possibility.

TH: What made you move to London?

Alpha: I was an international student at CSU and I moved to London to be closer to my family.

TH: When did you start ADYN?

Alpha: Four years ago I was working as a manager in a clothing store in central London, being in the centre of it all and working in fashion at a commercial level. Two of my friends/co-workers and I thought we could do better and we had a concept for a unisex brand. We decided to give it a try and thanks to social media it took off.

TH: Is ADYN an acronym? And to clear up any confusion, what is the proper way to pronounce the name? Do you pronounce it by each letter (A-D-Y-N)? Or do you pronounce it as one fluid name?

Alpha: It’s not so much an acronym but it is short for “androgynous” which is both male and female; the idea of the brand is that it can both be worn by men and women. It is pronounced letter-by-letter A-D-Y-N.

TH: You just recently released a new collection named ELEMENT. It seems that this collection is focusing more on earth tones instead of the black and white colorways we usually see from ADYN. Tell me a little bit more about the collection. What was the inspiration behind this collection?

Alpha: ELEMENT has just released and the reception has been fantastic. The essence of the brand is quite minimal and monochromatic, but we try and have a bit more fun with capsule collections. The colour palette was inspired by nature and [its] elements. The fabric has a suede finish and is really tactile. We always try to use interesting fabrics and play with textures. Finally, the shapes are our classic shapes that we use in our essential pieces.

TH: Thank you so much for your time Alpha!

The full ELEMENT collection is now available at ADYN with the additional "dark ink" colorway added, the wool overcoat added, and new t-shirt packs available. 

adyn.co.uk