UK Music and Arts Collective British Mustard

Queering the Hip-Hop and EDM World

British Mustard is not a condiment you put on your bangers and mash but rather a unique, U.K.-based artistic collective that combines music and fashion. Founded by Kai Cornwall in 2020, Cornwall partnered with fashion designer and visual artist Ellen Critchley to produce a project that produces both music and a line of clothing.

On the music end, British Mustard recently released the album Apunkalypse which combines hip-hop and electronic music with a punk ethos. On the fashion side, the collective released their first clothing line with London Fashion Week Digital LABS.

British Mustard strives to create a sustainable brand, as well as a brand that’s accessible to all. Through the collective’s Loan Store program, customers can use and wear pieces from their clothing line with less of an impact on the environment. It also allows their fashion line to be accessible to low-income customers, thus eliminating some of the elitism and classism that is inherent in most high-end fashion.

OFM sat down with Kai Cornwall to talk about his vision for this unique project and where it’s going in the future.

What inspired you to create a combination music and fashion collective?

To be honest, it was something that naturally happened. I have always made music since I was very young and would cut up clothing and hand-sew patches on and things like that. And when I met the other half of British Mustard (Ellen Critchley), we began making clothing mainly for me to wear on stage. And from there, British Mustard was born, where the music and clothing reflect each other, influence each other and kind of correlate and feed off one another. 

How do your fashion and music compliment each other?

I would say they are both out of the norm. Neither fits into a particular box or can be compared to any existing brands or music. They create their own boxes and subcategories, which can make them hard to explain to people without them seeing and hearing the art! 

You describe yourself as punk, but your music is a combination of hip-hop, electronic, and trap music. How do you define that as punk? How do you define punk in relation to what you do?

I think for me, punk is anything that is anti-establishment, forward-thinking, and out of the norm. A lot of people associate the word “punk” with the Sex Pistols and ripped t-shirts, but is that really punk nowadays? It is accepted and normalized. Punk should make people think, “Wow what the fuck did I just experience?” It’s not shock factor exactly, but it should be refreshing and new and different. This is also a big thing with my music as coming from a drill background. The music I use with my rap is not what people would expect. 

Who are your influences, both musically and fashion-wise?

I think it’s hard to say who my influences are, but some would definitely be Black Marble, Tiger Jaw, and COUCOU CHLOE. As for fashion influences, I would say we are influenced by the early work of Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier, as both designers have never been afraid to push the norm. Viv was once laughed off a TV show because people didn’t understand her clothing, purely because she was before her time and viewed the world differently from other people. 

You describe your fashion as being focused on a queer, femme, and POC gaze. What do you mean by that?

I think a big part of the things you create come from your own experience and identity. Me being an effeminate, queer, Black man and Ellen being a queer female, the way we design, the lyrics I make, and our lived experiences ooze into our designs and music. 

Why was it important to you to make a sustainable brand?

We are a slow-fashion brand. We aim to source fabric sustainably and use organic, recycled, and deadstock fabric where possible. We produce all of our clothing ourselves, and all our fabric is printed in the U.K. Local sourcing and production is a huge part of our brand identity. In our latest collection, we are looking at more ways to repurpose existing clothing. For example, we are creating a jumper and embroidering it using yarn sourced from unraveling secondhand jumpers.

 Talk to me about your clothing loan program. Why was that important to you?

The loan program is important, as we feel it is really important that designers benefit from press pulls. Everyone else gets paid for shoots (make up artists, hair stylists, photographers, and stylists), whereas designers are not paid and don’t even always get credited! 

Therefore, we wanted to create a loan store for upcoming designers to loan out clothing for a small daily fee giving them security and guaranteed crediting for their work. This is also an amazing way for people to borrow and wear designer clothing without buying it, which makes clothing more accessible for people as well as reducing waste of garments. 

What’s next for British Mustard?

Lots of live shows! I am currently working on a new album, and we are also underway with making our new collection which will debut with a show in February 2023, so watch this space! 

Apunkalypse is now available on all streaming platforms, and as well as their new singles, “Don’t Panik” and “Sad Society.” Keep up with the project at britishmustard.co.uk. 

Photos courtesy of British Mustard