I fell in love with the culture, community and creativity of the area

SHOP

Who’s behind South East 15?

I’m Fifi, the content creator behind SouthEast15.com and illustrator behind our South East 15 online store.

Around 7 years ago I moved in between Peckham + Nunhead in South East London and instantly fell in love with the culture, community and creativity of the area. It had a real buzz about it.

At the time I was in my mid-20’s and working crazy hours at a big Advertising agency in the city. Even though I studied fashion design at Uni and was working my way up in the ad world ladder, I had completely lost my creative side, believing I wasn’t a ‘creative’. Falsely believing you had to be given the title ‘creative’ in order to be it. 

Over the last 7 years, I jumped ship from being an Account Director in the ad world to working as a Freelance Brand Consultant and growing SouthEast15 whilst also squeezing in a ‘creative sabbatical’… backpacking around Central and South America to re-align and refocus my outlook and goals.

Me in the SouthEast15 embroidered tiger tee

Me in the SouthEast15 embroidered tiger tee

Moving to SE15 had opened my eyes to a whole new world of creativity, side hustle and entrepreneurial spirit. I loved the rawness of Peckham. The diversity, the mix of cultures, the imaginative ways people were reinventing forgotten spaces. To me, the area had a very distinct personality - it was original, bold and unapologetically real. 

I started going to some really cool events and exhibitions in the area, visiting pop-ups, taking pictures of Rye Lane market. I felt inspired again.

My friends didn’t know much about what the area had to offer. So, I created a list of things happening in the area to get them to come and check it out (/ party with me in Canavan’s until the early hours). So, South East 15 came about quite organically. 

I started SouthEast15 in 2017 sporadically covering local events, reviews and recommendations. It has since grown into a bigger platform - with the aim to inspire others to own their time and go be more creative.

In 2019 alongside working on SE15 content and freelancing, I rekindled my love for design, deciding I didn’t give a f*ck about what people regarded as ‘creative’ and just started something I was passionate about - which led me to create a new strand to SE15 -  Our shop selling clothing and printed goods designed and illustrated by me.

I only design when I feel inspired as opposed to being dictated by fashion seasons! I wanted to create a concept-led slow fashion + lifestyle brand. 

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