“We would like to see a world where people are not afraid of following gut feelings and strong intuition”
A sentence that resonates through the mind, reverberating in any challenging situation that requires an important decision. Co-Founder of Brussels-based brand Lost Intutitions Achraf Messari describes his vision of clothing to empower people to cherish and express their neglected intutions, to relieve feeling lost in some way or another.
“Lost Intuitions = Lost People”, he describes, “Intuition is who you are, your soul, your essence, it’s what sets you apart from others, but at the same time connects everyone in the pursuit of originality.”
We had the chance to speak with Achraf about his brand, the history, and the vision of Lost Intuitions – a rapidly growing local brand from Brussels, Belgium, producing clothing for a purpose.
How did Lost Intuitions come about?
I’ve always felt like I wasn’t supposed to fit into the society I grew up in. Although I got along quite easily with most of the people I met, I felt like there was more to friendships, conversations, and relationships. People seem to limit themselves by not following what they feel inside and instead just fall victim to peer pressure, fear, and other mental prisons. I wanted to express this through art. After experimenting with graffiti, music, and fashion, I felt most passionate creating clothing that looked good and expressed a message.
What was the journey of starting your own label like?
It was not just a given. I grew up in ghetto surroundings where criminality was around the corner. On top of that, tough financial situations made sure that every move had to be well-calculated. Despite the obstacles, I found a way to make it work. A year later, my life-long best friend Kursad joined the brand and things started going uphill very quickly.
The name is central in our brand. After dozens of conversations with people that opened up about their fears and struggles, we noticed a pattern: everyone is lost in their own way. Losing the power to follow your intuition has a lot to do with losing your way. We feel like intuition is who you are, your soul, your essence. It's what sets you apart from others, but at the same time connects everyone in the pursuit of originality. Hence, the name Lost Intuitions = Lost People.
What are the current projects you’re working on?
Right now, we’re just trying to make noise in every way possible, disrupting the industry. This means bringing our story to as many people as possible through our clothing. We love the sneaker scene so it has been awesome to be able to showcase our clothing at your store, Drip Drops, and at Dux Supply in Antwerp. It brings local brands and stores together to co-create and disrupt the giants. We're also aiming at reaching more people online with creative content, but you'll see more of that very soon on our socials, so stay tuned!
“Right now, we’re just trying to make noise in every way possible”
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing as an independent clothing brand?
We are aware that brands are popping up everywhere in the fashion scene, so that evidently creates competition. However, we see this as a positive, we learn so much from our peers and hope that they do too. We need competition to thrive, otherwise the world stands still.
We try to set ourselves apart from the competition in our story: our emotional connection to our community of supporters. To be honest, it is much more about the story than it is about the clothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love creating dope-ass pieces, but they are a means to something bigger, to helping people feel more comfortable in their own skin, to empowering them and giving them a voice in the face of fear, critics, and doubters. This is what we have in mind with every move we make: How will this piece impact the person that is going to wear this?
It's not an easy mission, but we truly believe that if our efforts come from a place of sincerity, people will resonate with our message and hopefully feel connected to what we have to offer.
What can we expect from Lost Intuitions in the future?
It's difficult to say where we would want to be in 3-5 years because the fashion landscape is so dynamic, but one thing is for sure: we want be seen. We want people to know that we have arrived and we are determined to put ourselves – and more-so our message – on the map.
Ever thought about a physical store?
We would love to have more exposure online in the coming years and a physical store would help shape our story and imagery immensely, so yeah that would definitively be dope. In any case, what you can expect from us is that we will keep on creating collections in line with the seasons with experimental as well as simplistic pieces. One thing is for certain, they will always be designed with the empowerment of our community in mind.
Thank you to Achraf from Lost Intuition for taking the time.
by Freddy