An exciting new clothing brand has been launched in Abergavenny by an entrepreneur based in the town.

The brand, Vive Ut Vivas, launched this month amidst the Covid-19 lockdown, and it provides a range of both menswear and womenswear.

The designs draw inspiration from a variety of sources, including a mixture of the Mod style of the Jam and the Who, the Britpop fashion of Oasis and notable sportswear brands like Adidas.

James Falconer, who grew up in Abergavenny, is the founder and designer of the clothing line.

He said: “Vive Ut Vivas was born out of a stroke of bad luck to be honest. I was made redundant in April 2019 from a job I loved.

“I was lucky enough to receive a redundancy payout and decided to put it into my next move rather than waste it down the pub. I had always dreamed of doing my own thing, so I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to start something up.”

The new venture has long been a dream for James.

“Originally I had always wanted to open a store selling all the clothing brands that I liked. But that just didn’t seem feasible in this economic climate. I learnt a lot about designs and fabrics, as well as what sells, during my eight years in fashion and I thought why not put it into practise?

“Clothes and fashion had always been a passion of mine, I mean, I’ve got over 70 jackets in my wardrobe! Who needs 70 jackets?!” he said.

The name of the brand was something that James put a lot of time and effort into in the early stages of creating the clothing line. Whilst it’s rather distinctive, James explains it also has a personal meaning for him.

“I had recently looked into our family history and we descend from The Falconer Clan of the Scottish Highlands. I had looked up the Falconer Clan crest and it had the latin words “Vive Ut Vivas” written around it, which translates to “Live That You May Live”. I conducted some more research and found that the phrase means “Live life to the full”, Live without the fear of possible future consequences”.

The clan’s distinctive tartan pattern was also a source of inspiration for the brand’s image.

“Luckily it [the tartan] was a cool one! It combines a dark green, navy and black. I plan on using this in the identity of the brand and hopefully become recognised for it.”

James also discusses what his hopes for Vive Ut Vivas are.

“I’ve always had this belief that if you think you look good, you feel good. I would love to help people feel like that.

“I would also like the brand to spread a positive message amongst the fashion industry. In this age of social media, people have a habit of comparing their own lives to others through a screen. The brand stands for doing what you enjoy, whether you like the rock n roll lifestyle, or you prefer a quiet night in with a film or a book and a cuppa” he said.

Never one to sit back, James already has big plans coming for the clothing line.

“Ideally, in five years’ time, VUV will have a much larger range across both the men’s and women’s categories.

“I would also love to introduce a more premium range to the brand when the time is right and offer an even higher quality of material. I would however, love to have a team of VUV staff to bounce ideas off and help take the brand to the next level.”

The first collection is available now from viveutvivas.com, with an autumn/winter line set for later in the year with more styles and colours already planned.

You can also follow all the latest news from Vive Ut Vivas on social media at @viveutvivasltd.