Reinventing Reselling; An Interview with one half of the duo behind Known Source and their dealer Bad Mouth* Archive

In the current fashion sphere where vintage clothing and archives are dominating trends, and resellers are a dime a dozen, it is really hard to separate yourself and carve a niche. So when I had the opportunity to talk to Theo El-Kattan, one half of the revolutionary duo behind Known Source, reinventing reselling, I jumped at it. Luckily, I also had the unbelievable chance to converse with Finn Thomas of Bad Mouth* Archive, one of Known Source’s dealers. 

New Wave - I have to ask about the origins, how did you guys decide to start Known Source, what made you want to create a platform of resellers? 

Known Source - Henry (the co-founder) and I have both been part of the fashion scene for a while. I grew up around Soho, so became one of those kids who would queue up overnight for Supreme hoodies to resell online. My mum thankfully is a Jean Paul Gaultier archivist, so my appreciation of archive pieces also started young. As a buyer and casual reseller, my desire to start Known Source stemmed from wanting to create a more purposeful and easier buying experience, one in which you do not have to scroll through trash to find quality items and one that actually acted on the promise of sustainability.

Henry used to be a verified dealer himself. At the beginning of his Medicine studies, he set up a renowned second hand store called HMS Vintage. Over six years of trading, he had 70,000 followers and made nearly 5,000 sales. Having felt unsupported as a top seller on competitor platforms, Henry found Known Source with me to create a platform that appreciates and supports top, independent sellers, and in doing so spurs consumers to value quality items that can retain value over time (instead of being discarded to waste).

Henry McNeill-Njoku

NW - Absolutely amazing, and Finn what made you get into vintage clothing?

Bad Mouth* - It was an undying love for fashion, specifically second hand. Having history behind a piece whether it be the story behind an iconic collection, or the distressing on an old hoodie from the previous owner, it just adds so much more character and reasoning behind an outfit. I wanted to share that emotion with others by curating a collection of pieces that would convey it. 

NW - What precisely do you do which makes you different from other vintage stores? What do you reckon distinguishes you in this overcrowded sector of resellers?

KS - Our difference from existing platforms comes from our curation and circularity.

We are the only platform to curate our people. We are a grassroots ecosystem of verified dealers, and we’re the only platform to house our collective of expert dealers under one roof, including Finn.

We are the only platform out there to operate with a truly circular model, thanks to our Renew feature. Our Renew feature is our guarantee that any item purchased can be sent back to us anytime in the future, and in any condition. As the platform, we’ll sell the item for you, rephotographing, cleaning, listing, even reworking the item, all where required. This is a truly circular model, and we’re the only platform to operate with an anytime returns policy, which is really made possible by our superior levels of curation

What these two points create is a trusted purchase process, you know who you’re buying from and can trust that the item will arrive as described, and really removing the stigma from shopping second hand.

BM - I think sometimes designer vintage and archive can come across as a bit serious or intimidating. I try to blend more accessible pieces with rarer archive pieces so that there is something accessible to most people. I think that range in price while still maintaining a strong curation is what sets my store apart.

NW - I understand the naming process behind Known Source but I need to ask, Finn, why the name “Bad Mouth*”? What is the backstory?

BM - I’ve always had a love for vintage fashion, probably inherited from my mum’s love, or obsession I sometimes say, with Ebay. The business aspect came from both a need to make some money during university, but also a longtime dream to start my own business. I first started Bad Mouth* in the summer of 2019 during my first year at Bristol Uni. Initially I spotted a gap in the market for selling festival accessories, which ended up selling really well, growing much faster than I expected, so I went with it. From there I evolved the store to focus more on streetwear, in line with the big fashion & music scene in Bristol. Since then my shop has evolved massively, to now more of a focus on the things I love, which is mostly 90s and 2000’s designer and archive pieces.

I rebranded my store around a year and a half ago as I wanted a reason to refine my curation, up the quality of my content and create a stronger brand image, and with that came the decision to change my brand name to Bad Mouth*. In the last few years, the vintage reselling space has become far more saturated, so the need for a strong brand identity was vital to create a bit of separation. 

The name stemmed from a few different ideas. First, I started taking inspiration from branding that uses oxymoron. There’s a venue called Pretty Poison and an influencer called Bloody Dior, two names which really stick in your mind. I’m obsessed with the psychology behind branding as well so I wanted a name that evoked a strong image since brand names that evoke imagery are far more memorable. 

At the time, I had a Stussy x Rick Owens tee featuring a printed graphic of Michele Lamy’s Mouth with gold grills. I also had a late 2000’s Vice magazine featuring an open mouth with an acid tab on the tongue. Both these references gave me the idea of incorporating ‘Mouth’ in to the name, since it both conjures up a strong image, but because the mouth is also so heavily referenced in fashion culture, whether it be the idea of fashion providing a voice to social or political issues, or in the literal sense such as grills being heavily used within the streetwear scene. 

The final tagline “Bad Mouth, Good Taste” came to me randomly one morning and I knew that was it. 

NW - That's an intriguing story behind a truly memorable brand name. How can someone get into this field of vintage dealing? There are also multiple facets like sourcing legitimate designer items, building relationships with dealers and knowing about quality and restoration, how can someone learn those? How do you guys find and validate your sellers? 

BM - Start small, find a niche and try to avoid copying an existing store. You’ll learn what works for you as you start to develop. It took me around 4 years before I was truly happy with what my brand represented!

In terms of sourcing legitimate items, that is probably the trickiest part. It’s crucial to learn about the authentication processes, whether it be identifying the zip brands used on Prada jackets or learning the label details of various designer brands. There’s a few websites, blog posts and reddit pages that will help you learn, but a rule to stand by is that if you ever have any doubt of authenticity, don’t sell it as authentic. 

Known Source has been such an incredible platform for curating a community within the vintage space. Owning an online vintage store can sometimes be a bit isolating since you rarely have a team around you, yet being a part of the Known Source community has really flipped that. 

NW - The resurgence in the demand for vintage items has been extremely high, do you reckon that dealers have been able to keep up? 

KS - Yes, I believe so! As the demand has increased, the number of vintage dealers has also increased, specifically since Covid times when loads of new online vintage stores popped up. I think while the demand has increased, people are actually buying less and with more intention which has helped to hamper the huge demand.

NW - Has this demand created a need for more stringent checking with respect to quality and dupes?

BM - Yes. The replica market is huge now! And sometimes the replicas are so good it’s almost indistinguishable to the real deal. Luckily the replica market is mostly focused on new collections and items, so an influx of inauthentic items copying designer pieces from the 90s and 2000s hasn’t really happened. However, there are still tons of fakes around. It’s important to research the labels of brands and the identifiers of an authentic item. It’s something you learn as you go. Personally, if I ever have any doubt on authenticity, I will never sell that item. Stitching, fabric quality, label layout, zipper brands are all key signifiers of an authentic item.

Theo El-Kattan

NW - Known Source is known to have an extensive, close knit dealer community; how does this group work and how do you create an ideology to fulfil the circular economy/ecosystem mission?

KS - Finn you can hold me honest here, but the way we like to work with our dealers is essentially like a family

We’re super transparent with our dealers on how to grow the business, and we’re always getting dealers’ inputs on how we do what we do. For example, we just jumped on a massive call with everyone about the westfield store, getting people’s input on every little detail. Finn was even one of the first to see the initial designs of the space.

This creates a feeling with our dealers that Known Source is as much theirs as it is ours. One of our dealers, ARCHIVES by THIDVRVT, even expressed this to me recently: “I feel like Known Source is my baby.”

As with any family, We’re always keen to bring everyone together physically too, last year we ran a series of dealer meet ups and pop ups, and this year we just ran a big community event and next month we’ll be having a dealer dinner really to celebrate what’s to come. And I guess this creates an ideology that we’re stronger together, and we’re all together to achieve the same goal of encouraging more people to wear quality second hand products, which will change consumer habits for the better.

NW - That is the trademark thought process that I believe gives Known Source an edge above others in this field. Now another pertinent question I have is are there any specific pieces you have come across that you wished you kept for yourself (or wanted to keep!)?

BM - I purposefully sell womenswear to avoid the question of how many things I can keep! But I used to have a crazy collection of rare Maharishi Sno Pants that I sold 4 or so years ago. Even though I wouldn’t necessarily wear them now, I wish I had kept them for my future kids.

NW - You've recently held pop ups and had a gigantic summer event with second life markets, how do these events help further the ideology behind Known Source? 

KS - Physical events are so important to reaffirm the family feeling. Finn, feel free to add, but what I hear from dealers is that running an online business can get quite lonely so being together with everyone is key. 

We honestly only decided to do our first pop-up to experiment how it would go. The turnout and feedback from our dealers was so good that we continued, and now we have just opened up our first store in Westfield, Stratford that we want to be a dedicated space for the second hand fashion scene. A hub that doesn’t believe in individual genius but rather uniting a grassroots collective to spur consumer behaviour change.

NW - I also need to inquire since I'm not based in the UK, whether you guys are planning to hold events internationally as well or find dealers who are curating pieces made by designers in different countries? 

KS - International events will come, but dealer expansion comes first. And excitingly we just announced our first EU based dealer VILIS VINTAGE onto Known Source. Based in Amsterdam, VILIS’ collection is so unique and rare. If you’re a sneakerhead too, you need to check them out.

Whilst we wait for Known Source to set in motion their international plans, they have set up their first long term store at Westfield Stratford in London. The store is one of a kind, the collection available changes every week as well as doubling as an event arena to foster relations between their dealer community and customers.