Paynter — for making fashion worth waiting for
The duo (and couple) behind Paynter Jackets, Becky Okell and Huw Thomas, seem to emit a challenger mindset from their souls. The business, founded in 2018, which sells only four limited-edition batches of a particular piece of clothing per year, is challenging fashion’s accepted trade-offs. Their unique model takes control of the potential discrepancy between supply and demand whilst improving quality and eliminating waste.
In a world where customers want everything yesterday, Paynter proves that it is possible and profitable to make something worth the wait. Each piece must be pre-ordered, and much like highly anticipated Supreme drops, the opportunity doesn’t hang around for long. Batch No.4 of 750 pieces sold out in two minutes flat. And because they offer returns, it works to have a waitlist of potential buyers in the wings. From this fast start, the successful customer won’t be getting their new garment any time soon. Instead, it is only then that Paynter begins manufacturing, usually at a small family run factory in Northern Portugal.
Paynter has embraced the constraint of delayed gratification and uses the intervening time to share weekly content about your piece. Not only does this excite customers as to what’s on its way. It also educates them as to the effort involved. Hopefully, encouraging them to take care of, and savour, the thoughtfully created item. This added level of detail has struck a chord with a particular creative, open-minded and perhaps a little geeky mindset. I imagine it also fuels some solid pub brags about why ‘my artisan jacket is more interesting than yours’. All good PR ahead of Paynter’s much anticipated next drop.
This imbalance between supply and demand doesn’t come without potential customer frustration, which the pair take personally, even sending individual apology videos to those disappointed — ultimately creating a fanbase of eager buyers ready for the next batch.
Co-founders Becky Okell and Huw Thomas. Photo: Paynter
There is a sustainability story within the business model, they are part of 1% for the Planet, but they don’t hark on about it. Instead, they inject the brand with their humanity and humility, being open about their journey, building their business in public and sharing the truth of the challenges along the way.
Talking to Becky and Huw, it’s clear they are a rare breed. Paynter isn’t just a brand for hipsters; their oldest customer (so far) is a 74-year-old lady from Sweden. They ship to over 50 countries, but they don’t want to grow. Instead, they are motivated by building a business that remains independent and sheds light on a new way of doing things. When potential investors have approached and encouraged them to diversify, they would rather leave that opportunity for another entrepreneur. I’m excited to see how Paynter can inspire and enable a new generation of challengers in 2022 and beyond.
If this appeals to you then the next drop is Batch No. 10 the Wilton Car Coat, available on 29th Jan at 9am. You’ll have to be fast…
