AIL meets Gandys

Born from a simple idea at a music festival, Gandys was created by brothers Rob and Paul. With a bohemian upbringing travelling and volunteering all over the world the brothers wanted to create something unique and driven by their personal passion after the tragic loss of their parents in the Boxing Day Tsunami whilst the family was travelling.

The brothers founded Gandys with the vision of creating a sustainable social enterprise that would help but also inspire others to create change. Their "Orphans for Orphans" mission, which supports children in need of basic essentials such as nutrition, shelter and education, has already started to make an impact by funding children's homes in India and Sri Lanka and the vision is to open them all around the world.

Tell us a bit about your new collection with Liberty and how it came about.
We have always had such a passion for Liberty Fabric and their classic prints. We got in contact with Managing Director Ed Burstell and introduced ourselves and our brand ethos. Ed fell in love with the concept and brand and the collaboration was born!

Was it daunting to work with one of the most iconic and retailers in London?
Liberty is an icon of British retail; it’s the destination of choice for the savvy and sophisticated shopper and known for its traditional classic prints. To have the opportunity to combine the rich design heritage of Liberty with our youthful Gandy spirit was definitely a collaboration we were not going to miss out on; it was more inspiring and exciting to get this opportunity rather than daunting.

What do you love most about London?
How multi cultural and diverse London is, as well as the inspiration and constant buzz surrounding us every day with London being the UK’s fashion capital. Art and Design is everywhere you look.

And is there anything you wish you could eliminate from the city forever?
Bad weather! When London’s warm it’s the best city to be in and on a plus it’s... flip flop weather.

If there’s one place other than London you could live where would it be and why?
There have been many inspirational visits and we have ticked quite a few places off the list, but India is definitely up there on the list to live; it’s a whole new world. Sri Lanka probably tops the list though. We’ve recently returned as we are funding a children’s home there and it is very close to our hearts.

What’s the first thing you do when you return home?
With all the travelling we do now with Gandys, eg. the Sri Lanka trip with Peter Simon (founder of Monsoon/Accessorize) and going to Jamaica addressing the students of Sir Richard Branson's Centre of Entrepreneurship in Montego Bay, we will try and get a few day breathers in between our working schedules while away to make sure we can recharge the batteries.

You famously renamed one of your flip flops Necker Red in honour of Sir Richard Branson; what has it meant to you to have such a legendary entrepreneur support your business?
It’s amazing having Richard Branson’s support - he’s always been a huge inspiration to us because he’s such an incredible entrepreneur. We’ve always admired that Virgin businesses are a force for good in the world.

Did you ever think when launching Gandys that it would be such a success?
We had aspirations and dreams to make it but I don’t think we ever thought it would take off so fast. It is incredible the support we have received and the amount of people backing us. At the end of the day we work hard and have a constant drive to succeed and this has been installed in us from childhood from our parents. This is what powers us through and will hopefully allow us to continue with the success of Gandys.

Can you tell us your top London hangouts?
Brockwell Park and the Lido Cafe
Brick Lane for the best curry in the city
Borough Market
Kew Gardens
London Zoo

And finally, what’s your absolute favourite place in the whole city, and why?
Brixton Village – it’s local to us, has great food and a great vibe, a quirky atmosphere and is full of colour and buzz.