RD1 Clothing, an independent menswear store in Hastings, has celebrated its fourth birthday. What began as one small shop on Havelock Road now serves customers across the UK and beyond. The retailer has built a loyal following in just four years. Its founder says the business is only getting started, with more growth already under way.
For an independent shop launched just after the pandemic, four years is a genuine milestone. RD1 stocks casual and heritage menswear from some of the best-known names in the game. It has grown this far without outside investment, backing itself every step of the way. Along the way it has become a destination for football casual clothing, mod and retro sportswear fans nationwide.
From part-time shop assistant to shop owner
The RD1 story starts with founder Mickey. Not long ago he was a part-time shop assistant with no clear plan for the future. Running his own store felt like a distant dream rather than a realistic goal. “If you told my 16-year-old self that one day I’d be celebrating the fourth birthday of my own men’s clothing store, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you,” he says.
Getting the shop open took a proper leap of faith just after Covid. Mickey had to persuade the industry to take a chance on a young, unproven retailer. Family and friends put in long days and nights to get the place ready. For the first six months, he worked evenings as a delivery driver to pay the bills. It was a real gamble, but one that has clearly paid off.
A brand line-up built on football, music and heritage
RD1 has grown into an authorised stockist of leading casual and heritage labels. The rails carry names such as Sergio Tacchini, Weekend Offender, Fila, Lyle & Scott and Napapijri. Pretty Green, Aquascutum, Diadora, Original Penguin and Ellesse feature too. Sizes run all the way up to 4XL, so the shop serves a wider range of customers than most.
This is not a random spread of labels thrown together on a whim. Each brand speaks to the football casual, mod and retro sportswear culture RD1 is built on. It is the kind of clobber that carries real history on the terraces and in British music. That heritage, paired with genuine product knowledge, is a large part of the appeal.
Collaborations that tell the RD1 story
Two collaborations stand out from the first four years, and both reflect what RD1 is about. The first was the RD1 x Weekend Offender Dealers tee, the shop’s debut brand collaboration. Mickey had worn Weekend Offender for more than 15 years before pitching the idea. The team reissued the original Dealers design in RD1’s black and amber, carrying a Primal Scream lyric as a nod to 90s music.
The second was the RD1 x NME 1990 Archive tee, the shop’s first own-brand archive piece. It reproduces the famous NME cover shot by photographer Kevin Cummins during Italia ’90. The image brought together England footballer John Barnes and New Order’s Bernard Sumner. “This image says everything about what RD1 is about,” Mickey says. “Football, music, British culture, all of it in one shot.”
A national following, built the hard way
RD1 started with a single shop, yet its reach now stretches far beyond Hastings. Customers travel from across the country to visit the store in person. Many more shop online, with parcels going out all across the UK.
That loyal following has been earned through service, not shortcuts. Customers regularly praise the personal, in-person feel of shopping with RD1, even from a distance. In recent months the shop has grown its team, added new brand partnerships and taken on more stock. There have also been collaborations with brands, artists and the music industry as the business expands. “You lot keep choosing us and coming back, so we must be doing something right,” Mickey says.
The plan for year five
The plan for the next twelve months is refreshingly simple, in Mickey’s own words. Find the best quality clobber possible, stay humble and work hard. Give every customer a genuinely good service, own any mistakes and always try their best. It is the approach that has carried RD1 from day one, and it is not changing.
For a young independent operating without investors, staying true to that has mattered enormously. “We’re a little independent shop in Hastings. No investors, just us,” Mickey says. He believes someone has to keep proper clobber and proper service alive for the next generation. Four years in, RD1 shows no sign of slowing down. You can browse the latest new arrivals online or visit the shop in Hastings.
