From edgy, embellished, vintage style to cutting-edge American sportswear, Seven is the place to go if you want to stand out from the crowd.

Who?
Zena Jones runs Seven with her partner Dominic under the label: Stylist’s Own, while Dom runs a printing label called Relax. Having studied fashion and textiles at Bristol’s very own Bower Ashton campus, Zena shunned the bright lights of London for a spot designing and customising her own unique brand of clothing at the small but perfectly formed Seven. “I was very influenced by my aunties,” she explains, “my mum has five sisters, so I got a lot of hand-me-down clothes - lots of unusual pieces, like handmade stuff from Hong Kong and Africa. So I have always customised and re-hashed to make my clothes into something different.”

What?
Seven offers the discerning Bristolian the opportunity to pick out key vintage pieces that have been given the Zena treatment, so expect bejewelled embellishments, lots of fringing and a good bit of bling to boot. Seven also offer a great line in American sportswear for those who favour the laid back approach.

Why?
“At the time we decided to set up Seven, there was no one really selling clothes that we liked. We were having to go to London, so we started making our own stuff,” explains Zena. The two-strong team have also collaborated with local designers and offer a screen printing service that sees them creating works of sartorial art for promotional drum and bass nights.

Where?
Neatly tucked up on Park St Avenue, right next to The Woods bar, you can’t miss it thanks to the excellent graff splashed across the walls of Seven courtesy of Bristol’s very own Paris.

Describe your style:
“It’s quite an eclectic style and we tend to cater to all different ages from 16 to 40 because they all have their own style, it’s always been that way. We do have key collections running because they are from the States and we like their stuff, but we also like to mix up vintage pieces with sportswear,” she says. “It is a mix of eras ranging from the 1920s, lots of Art Nouveau, Art Deco; I’m really into Arts and Crafts - the Seven customer likes to mash it up a lot and blend it all together.”

What next?
“We are hopefully going to be putting a focus on manufacturing so you’ll be seeing more of a capsule collection from us: key pieces like coats, jackets, jeans, and dresses and skirts for the girls – really creating what we have at the moment but on a bigger scale,” says Zena. And what about the Bristol fashion scene? “Well it’s getting there,” she laughs. “It’s taken a while. People don’t want to spend a lot of money but they are willing to be more creative and want to wear more exclusive clothing. I reckon it’s actually better than London at the moment.” You heard it here first.

www.sevenstorebristol.co.uk

Verity Gough and Elena Goodrum