At home with... Miles Ellingham

Northcote Road struck Miles Ellingham as the ideal location to open his up-market fashion boutique, Can i? Jack Mitchell discovers why

Above: Miles Ellingham

How did you get started with Can i?

I’ve been in the fashion business for 16 years. I used to run a clothing label called Criminal Clothing which I set up with two other guys. But after eight years I decided that I wanted to branch out on my own and try something new, so I came up with the idea of a lifestyle company called Can i?.

What’s the idea behind Can i?

The concept of Can i? is more than just a shop. We’d like it to be a company that provides lifestyle, fashion, entertainment, music and all-round socializing. With Can i? we want people to be able to come and get their clothes from us, but for there to be a whole social network and scene as well, so they can go to our parties and to our restaurants – that’s the bigger picture for the future.

So all of this starts with the shop?

Yes, the first piece of the jigsaw for the Can i? lifestyle company is the shop, which gets the brand name and the logo out onto the high street. We’ve been here six months now and it’s been great. We’re building the business and it’s on the up. More and more people are getting to hear of us and I’m very pleased with how it’s gone so far.

Is Northcote Road a good place to start a business?

Definitely. Location is very important. I was living just off the Northcote Road and I thought the atmosphere and the community-feel of the area was really nice. It’s a really buzzy street, with lots of passing trade and a great social scene.

Were you confident that a fashion boutique would do well here?

I thought Northcote Road would be the ideal location for a good, up-market fashion boutique, selling premium casual wear as there was a gap in the market. There are other shops here, but a lot of them are ladies’ boutiques and they focus on smart-casual, going-out clothes rather than quality day-to-day products. And certainly on the men’s side of things there is nobody else in the area really doing the same as us.

How do you choose your stock?

With my experience of the business, I know what’s going on in the fashion world; which brands are doing well and which are the right brands to fit the ethos of the shop and give customers a broad choice. Not all of the brands I choose are UK-based, some are Europe-based and a lot of my brands are from the US.

How would you describe your customers?

We get 25-year-olds up to 45-year-olds and we’ve got something for everybody in those age groups. The majority of the customers we get are in their thirties. They’re at that age when they want something a little bit different, a bit special and Can i? lets them stick to this area rather than travelling further afield to find the latest fashions they want.

What are your plans for taking the business forward?

The immediate plan at the moment is to develop our own clothing line this year by getting a few of my own designs together and getting them made up and into the shop. The response we get in the shop will then be a good testing ground for developing that side of the business going forward.

What do you like most about the Northcote Road?

I like the fact that it’s a high street in a residential area serving its local community. It’s a bit of a dying breed in London, with only a few places still doing it well. There are still the traditional butchers and bakers, organic shops, fishmongers and the market selling fruit and vegetables. Then there’s the social scene with the restaurants and cafés which give the whole place a nice community feel. I’m happy to be a part of that and to be serving the local community with my products. I like the local shop mentality and I think that’s very much missing from London now and we’re losing that independent feel, but the Northcote Road’s still got it.

Can i? 144 Northcote Road,

SW11 6RD; 020 7924 5448