Represent, the British luxury fashion label, was founded by brothers George and Michael Heaton in 2011.
Inspired by American streetwear, it began as a deeply personal project, an expression of their unique style and creative values. The first products the brothers released were screenprinted T-shirts, sold mainly to friends, local skaters, and artists around Greater Manchester.
It didn’t take long for Represent to soar past its humble beginnings. Through bold designs and an unwavering focus on quality, the Heaton brothers built a fashion label with a sense of community and meaning.
Over time, the brand evolved from T-shirts to a trans-Atlantic clothing line with products spanning footwear, outerwear, and its popular 247 activewear. Testament to that success, today generating £100 million in annual revenue, while opening major new stores in Manchester and L.A.
Here, George and Michael share their secrets for growing a brand from a handful of bold designs, to a global fashion phenomenon, all while staying true to their creative roots.
Making better decisions at speed
Michael and George have never been afraid of moving fast. In fact, agility has underpinned their approach for more than a decade. As George says, “making good decisions fast is fundamental to how we do everything. We’ll make a decision, we’ll try it. But if it’s wrong we’ll switch directions.”
Moving quickly also means a willingness to take risks, and a refusal to become complacent. As just one example, Represent rapidly iterates on new products, which helps feed growth. George explains: “An example of risk taking is changing the way a product fits and feels, even when you’re doing well with that specific garment. The reality is, that one garment might be doing great with revenue today but six months down the line everyone will have purchased it. If you’re not ready with the next thing, then your safety net quickly disappears.”
“Being light on your feet and constantly switching and changing things makes us more resilient. Most huge companies struggle with that.”
– George Heaton, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Represent
When it comes to making quick decisions, there’s a need for balance between gut instinct as creatives, and learning from data—which, according to Michael, is where Shopify’s data analysis comes in. “Shopify helps me be more creative,” he says. “It opens up the time to focus on the things that I’m passionate about. And the data we get from it means we’re able to make decisions instantly and move forward faster.”
Paul Spencer, CEO at Represent, agrees that data is only becoming more vital to the team. “Shopify is key for our data driven decision making,” he says. “It has all of our stock levels, profiles, and other data in one place. And it interprets it in a way that empowers our team to make better choices and understand our customers.”
Keeping the business fit and disciplined
A commitment to fitness is a shared passion of the Heaton brothers—one that’s come to life in their popular 247 activewear line, which they were inspired to start during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Working from home, they savored the chance to get out on a run each day, or simply create their own weight circuit in the garage. However, as George explains, “we didn’t really want to get changed throughout the day. We wanted a line that could look great where we worked and also work in the gym. That’s why we called it 247—it’s something that you can wear morning or night, in the office or the gym, at a bar or out for a run.”
Fitness, however, has not only inspired new lines at Represent. It’s also a foundation for their business mindset.
“There’s definitely a correlation between fitness and running a business,” George continues. “It’s about doing hard things—whether that’s running a marathon or managing a full team. It’s the same mentality. Fitness also requires a lot of discipline—you have to make time for it, whether it’s running, or lifting, or any other type of fitness. And as you exercise you drive marginal gains. You can see the parallels—discipline and business success really go hand-in-hand for me.”
Paul adds that discipline also guides the systems and processes that Represent puts in place as it grows. “Scale brings complexity, and to manage complexity you need data, systems, processes, and discipline,” he explains. Shopify has acted as that trusted foundation—for example, by enabling the team to rapidly launch localized sites with new language and currency options through Shopify Markets, all while keeping the experience consistent for customers.
Flexing your creative muscles
You only have to glance at Represent’s products to see this is a brand built by artists. Its striking original designs have been crucial to the brand’s growth.
While the influences on George, Michael, and the team’s work are diverse, West Coast culture has been foundational. The two may have grown up in Manchester, but they were quickly immersed in the Sunshine State as kids thanks to their passion for skateboarding, MTV, and rock music.
“We were super into the West Coast of America as kids. That whole rock and roll scene, the fashion, the skating. It’s still an inspiration for my aesthetics to this day,” Michael says. But that doesn’t mean Represent’s style has remained static. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
“It used to all be about streetwear. We were looking at brands like Obey and Diamond Supply Co. It was all about what was on the T-shirt, the big logos and the bold graphics. But as you mature your taste matures. We’re more considerate about what’s on the garment today.”
– Michael Heaton, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Represent
While the West Coast will always be in Represent’s DNA, Michael’s focused on keeping his creative inspiration fresh. “It could be from visiting an art gallery, seeing a painting, walking past a statue. Inspiration is something that’s constantly ongoing for me. I’m always taking pictures, writing things down, and then taking those things into the design process with me,” he says.
Fueling this creativity is vital given Represent’s astronomical growth. “As soon as something’s done we celebrate. But we also know that next time we have to go bigger again for the next year. So you feel pressure to keep being creative.”
Staying true to your brand values
As brands grow, values can often fall by the wayside, or be treated as a bolt-on. Yet Represent has dodged this pitfall, instead making its values a core part of its growth strategy.
For George, the values underpinning the brand are clear: be the best. “Being the best is something that came to us from our customers. We’d get comments on Instagram saying things like ‘Best jacket ever’. And it made us think: ‘Let’s be the best in everything we do,’” he explains. Today, Represent prides itself on offering that superlative experience across the customer journey—from ordering, through to the delivery process, and of course, the garments themselves.
“We have to stay focused on who we are as a brand. I have this little checklist for the product that keeps us true to our values. One thing on there is simply—is it unique? Because in this business, there’s a million other brands doing the same thing, so you have to stand out.”
– George Heaton, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Represent
According to Michael, this adds up to an experience that’s bigger than Represent itself. “It’s more than a brand. It’s gone beyond just a name or a logo. It’s a lifestyle and a community. A place where somebody can come and feel a part of something.”
Paul Spencer, CEO, agrees this is what makes Represent special. “We’re family,” he says. “We came from two brothers and close friends and we’re proud of that. At the same time, we’re progressive—always looking to move forward. And we’re also relentless, we have a strong work ethic and we want to serve the consumer.”
Relentless is a fitting summary of the brother’s, and the brand’s, journey to date. From day one, Represent has raised the bar creatively, in its speed, its discipline, its focus on quality, and in building a global community like no other.
As it celebrates hitting the huge milestone of £100 million in revenue, that relentlessness will continue. It manifests in an unstoppable pursuit of new creative heights and a passion for providing the very best products and experiences for Represent’s community. The brothers would never settle for anything less.
