Some brands are built on spreadsheets. VELLURE was built on a promise.
Thomas - known to everyone as Rico - was just 21 years old when his life was tragically cut short in March 2026. He had plans. Huge plans. One of them was VELLURE: an independent UK streetwear label he created from his own ideas, ambition and determination. To Rico it was never simply clothing. It was something he built from a vision, and he genuinely believed he could grow it into something special.
He should be here building it himself. Instead, his family made him a promise: they would carry on what he started.
Since losing Rico, they have developed his brand, produced clothing, built the website, found manufacturers and suppliers, created new collections and started getting VELLURE in front of customers. Every order means more to them than somebody buying a tracksuit or hoodie. It means Rico's name is still moving forward.
But taking an independent clothing brand to the next level takes resources one family cannot carry alone. That is where a community comes in. You do not have to donate to help, and you do not have to spend a fortune. Here are ten practical ways to support VELLURE and keep Rico's streetwear dream alive.
Why community support matters more than a single sale
Independent labels are not built like big brands. There is no marketing department, no warehouse full of stock and no advertising budget bankrolled by investors. There is a small team doing every job, funding every reorder from the last batch, and hoping the next drop lands better than the one before.
That shape of business lives or dies on its community. A single sale keeps the lights on for a week. A community that buys, wears, shares and returns keeps the lights on for years - and it does something a paid ad cannot, which is to make the brand feel real to people who have never heard of it. Support for VELLURE is not charity. It is the ordinary mechanism by which a small label grows into a recognised one.
1. Buy a piece and actually wear it
The most direct support is still the simplest: buy something and wear it. Money spent on a tracksuit, hoodie or tee is reinvested into production and stock, and into the daily work of keeping an independent label moving. Choosing VELLURE over a high-street lookalike sends that money to the people who designed and made the clothing rather than to a shareholder.
Buying is only half of it. Wear the piece properly - to training, into town, on a night out, to the match. A garment that stays folded in a wardrobe supports a brand for a single order. A garment that gets seen, worn and asked about supports it for months, because every wear is a quiet recommendation to everyone who notices it.
2. Gift a VELLURE piece to someone who will wear it
Streetwear is a natural gift, and a well-chosen piece does what a discount code cannot: it puts VELLURE into someone new's rotation and gives you a natural moment to explain where the brand comes from.
Choose for their style rather than yours. The Grey Acid-Wash 500GSM Signature Hoodie suits someone who likes texture and weight, while a Vision Over Noise tracksuit set - pastel pink, cream or brown - lands with anyone who prefers a clean, coordinated look. A gift also lasts longer than most presents; it is worn, washed and worn again, carrying the brand into a new circle every time.
3. Share the story, not just the link
Sharing the VELLURE fundraiser page can be just as important as donating to it. One share could put Rico's story in front of the person who changes everything for the brand - a retailer, a creator, an athlete or a journalist who connects with a 21-year-old who had enormous dreams and not enough time to fulfil them.
When you share, add context. A one-line explanation of why the brand exists travels much further than a bare link, because it gives people a reason to care rather than just a reason to click. Tell them it is a family carrying on their son's label. That single sentence is what makes a stranger stop scrolling.
4. Follow the journey on Instagram
Independents grow on attention, and attention starts with a follow. Following VELLURE keeps you in the loop on new drops, restocks and behind-the-scenes work, and it helps the brand reach people who have not found it yet.
Instagram is where UK streetwear fans discover and discuss labels, and its algorithms reward the small signals people give freely: a follow, a save, a comment, a story reply. Those taps cost nothing, but they nudge VELLURE further into the feeds of exactly the audience it is built for. Being early to follow a label is also how you end up first in line when it breaks through.
5. Wear it where people will ask
Great streetwear is a conversation starter. Wear VELLURE somewhere people will notice - a match, a gig, a busy high street, the gym - and be ready for the question: where is that from?
That question is the whole game for an independent label. Big brands buy their recognition through advertising; small ones earn it one wearer at a time. Having an honest, brief answer ready - it is an independent UK brand built on a promise - does more for VELLURE than any paid placement could, because it arrives at the exact moment somebody is already interested.
6. Tag your fits and post them
If you already post outfits, include VELLURE in them. Tag the brand, name the product and keep it real. An ordinary mirror shot or street photo often lands better than an over-produced one, because it shows the clothes being worn in actual life rather than on a mannequin.
Honest content helps twice over. It gives the brand free reach into your followers' feeds, and it gives new customers something more useful than a studio product shot: proof of how the pieces fit, move and wear after a few washes. That is the detail shoppers look for before they commit to a smaller label.
7. Turn up for drops, pop-ups and events
Independent brands depend on people showing up. Getting to a pop-up, a market stall or a drop event does more than a purchase alone: it puts faces and names to the brand, gives the family real feedback and creates the kind of room that small labels remember.
If you cannot attend in person, engage online on the day. Watching, sharing and commenting during a drop tells both the algorithm and the family that something worth paying attention to is happening. Momentum built at an event often carries into the following week's sales.
8. Make an introduction
One introduction can change a small brand's year. If you know a retailer who stocks independent labels, a content creator who covers UK streetwear, an athlete or musician whose style matches, or a journalist who writes about young businesses, a warm introduction is worth a great deal.
You do not need to broker a deal. A tag, a forwarded message or a simple "you two should talk" is often all it takes to open a door a small label cannot open alone. The family have been contacting retailers and attending events themselves; an introduction simply puts them in a room they would have needed months to reach.
9. Donate to the fundraiser if you can
If you are in a position to give, the VELLURE fundraiser exists for exactly one reason: to reinvest in growing the brand. The money raised goes into production and stock, professional marketing and advertising, content creation, events and pop-ups, packaging and photography.
The family have been open about their ambition: to keep building, and to get VELLURE in front of a much bigger audience across the UK and eventually further afield. Contributions of £5, £10 or £20 all move the brand a step forward, and the fundraising page is the clearest place to see the current target and progress for yourself. Donating is one option among many - it is not the only way to matter.
10. Keep the vision over noise
VELLURE's own message is the best summary of how to back it: vision over noise. Support does not have to be loud or expensive. It is buying well, wearing honestly, sharing with context and staying patient while a young brand finds its feet.
The family are not asking anyone to build VELLURE for them. They are building the products, contacting retailers, attending events, advertising and packing orders every single day. What they are asking for is the opportunity they believe Rico's dream deserves - and that opportunity is made up of thousands of small, repeated gestures from people who decide the brand is worth backing.
Carrying it forward
Independent labels are fragile in their early years. They survive on repeat customers, word of mouth and a community that treats them as something worth protecting rather than a one-off purchase - a name to follow, not a box to tick.
VELLURE already has the products, the story and the determination behind it. What it needs next is reach, and reach is built one purchase, one share and one conversation at a time. Nobody has to do all ten things on this list. Doing one, consistently, is how a dream that should not have ended at 21 keeps growing.
For Rico. VELLURE - by Rico. Join the vision, and help carry the dream forward.