Loudbrand Studios: the east-London fashion label Kylie Jenner sent viral

The Kylie Jenner effect is an unstoppable and relenting force.

The 22-year-old has such level of clout that she can wipe $1billion from Snap Inc’s market value as quickly as she can blithely post a string of pictures to her Instagram account, in turn propelling a burgeoning brand to the dizzying heights of viral success.

Last Monday, Jedidiah Duyile was indeed one of the beneficiaries of the Kardashian Klout. The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family posted photographs to her Instagram account in which she sported a nude-toned, body-conscious dress, which was from Duyile's East London brand, Loudbrand Studios. Needless to say, the frock swiftly sold out.

Jenner didn't tag Loudbrand when she first posted the photos, prompting fans to call her out for failing to shout out the Black-owned business. The reality star was quick to dismiss any suggestion of a lack of support, tweeting: “Why would I ever refuse to tag a brand and block comments… I think this brand is amazing and I wanted to show support and will continue to do so.” Jenner conceded by encouraging her fans to check out Loudbrand Studios.

"Everything has really blown up," Duyile tells the Standard. "I didn’t know she was going to wear it, so on Monday I was at work and a friend texted me and said ‘Is Kylie wearing your dress?’ I looked and saw that she was and I honestly could not stop shaking."

In the space of 48 hours Loudbrand Studios' Instagram following escalated from a modest 2,000 to just shy of 50,000. That's an increase of 2,400%.

Duyile drew inspiration from her Nigerian-Ghanian heritage when designing the now-viral dress. "I really looked to where my parents are from and wanted to create something with the rich colours that come from those countries: the reds, the browns, the oranges."

After attending a host of courses at the London College of Fashion in her early teens - several in fashion design and others in jewellery design - Duyile realised that she wanted to pursue a career in the fashion industry but wasn't sure which facet most suited her.

What followed was a degree in fashion journalism (which solidified her belief that she didn't have an interest in the field) and her first foray into fashion design: an upcycling jeans business she ran via a now-defunct Instagram account called Jeans By.

“People would DM the page and say ‘hey, I’ve got some really baggy jeans’ and I’d take the jeans and paint them, cut them, basically totally re-vamp them," she explains.

Indeed, upcycling, recycling and the general notion of sustainability are at the core of Loudbrand Studios.

Eschewing the circular style of making collections in bulk, Jed has opted for a made-to-order model in a bid to swerve accumulating a surplus of deadstock material. The two seasons which the fashion industry works towards - spring/summer and autumn/winter - have been swapped out in favour of “one or two things every month, whenever I’m feeling inspired or creative.”

"I am big on recycling - I don’t feel like you should throw things away. I want to recycle things as much as I can for as long as I can."

Loudbrand operates as a team of three, with Duyile heading up design and creative direction, one of her good friends - who was keen to be a part of Loudbrand Studios - leading on social media and marketing and another offering to lead strategy for the brand.

"We kind of all fell into the roles, it was never properly decided, it was all really organic and they’re my friends and just wanted to help me out," she says.

Since Monday though, she quips, there’s been a swift establishment of a firmer strategy and she’s employed the use of her four siblings to help lead on the differing demands of the business. One sister is in charge of responding to e-mails, another answering phone calls and others helping Duyile hand sew orders. "We haven't outsourced anything yet, it's all very much in-house," she laughs.

Her inspiration for starting Loudbrand, which was conceived in 2016, was noting a gap in the market for comfortable and bold clothes which are made sustainably.

"I am aware that, as women, we all come in different shapes and sizes and I wanted to create something that would be comfortable for all women - no matter your size," she says.

Now that a star has been born, Duyile has a figure in her sights which may even eclipse the star power of Jenner. "To see Beyoncé wearing my stuff would be absolutely epic."