Repkulture’s first retail outlet courtesy of Activate Perth

Meet Repkulture Director Yandi Chali. 

Ten days into opening her first CBD bricks and mortar retail store – an Activate Perth tenancy in Plaza Arcade – Repkulture Director Yandi Chali came close to running out of most of her clothing lines.

“Opening the store has been an eye-opening process, from maintaining the trading hours to even realising the level of demand there is for our clothes,” she said.

“We have a strong on-line following. Combine that with the passing trade and ten days in I had to make a huge order to restock all our lines.”

Yandi’s two-year-old business began from a passion to inspire African-Australian youth to have the pride and confidence to wear traditional African print in Western countries without reservation, as well as inviting all Australians to share and enjoy African culture and love of fashion.

“Our pieces are limited edition, cool and contemporary. We want everyone to share in our culture and our vibe.

“We started retailing online. I’ve also tried markets and found the demand in each location hard to predict. I also enjoy not having to set up and pack down in a day.”

Yandi says she enquired with Activate Perth about a CBD tenancy when she started the business, but waited until the time was right to take that next step.

“For me, I knew it was the right time because people would want to come to my house to try on the clothes or get measured for custom pieces. I just felt it was more professional to have a space for our customers to try on clothes and do fittings.”

While Yandi’s designer envisioned the Plaza Arcade space, that was formerly a barber shop, the fit-out was a family affair, with everyone pitching in to help paint, re-purpose a second-hand piece for the counter and install shelves and skirting.

Repkulture is designed in-house in Australia and made in Nigeria and Tanzanie so the label can support micro-enterprises in Africa.

Not-for-profit Activate Perth’s rent-free, rolling lease model connects people who have innovative or fresh business ideas with property owners.

To get your hands on Repkulture’s unique limited edition pieces shop online here. Or drop into their retail outlet from Plaza Arcade, Hay Street, Perth from: 

Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm

Fri 10am – 5pm

Sat 10am-5pm

Make sure you show Yandi some love by following the team on Instagram and Facebook.

Feature image credit: Repkulture.