His custom designs were spotted by sportswear label Champion on Instagram
A STREETWEAR designer from Grangetown has teamed up with one of the world’s biggest sportswear brands to bring a personalised touch to customers in its flagship London stores.
Suliman Khan, the 27-year-old face behind Ice Cream Embroidery, has been embroidering garments live in Champion’s Soho store, and is running a pop-up in Selfridges this weekend.
Sul was approached by Champion last November after his designs were spotted on Instagram by one of the brand’s agents.
He was originally asked to run a pop-up for four days in the run up to Christmas, offering free embroidery with any in-store purchase, including the brand’s signature t-shirts and hoodies.
The collaboration was such a success that they have teamed up again, with more dates on the horizon later this year.
Sul, whose work was featured by the Cardiffian in November 2024, said that working with a major label such as Champion is a breakthrough for his small business.
“To be able to say that I work with Champion, it elevates the whole brand of the business. It gives me a stamp of approval,” said Sul.
When the brand first reached out, he assumed the message was fake.
“At the time, the storage on my Google account had run out, literally that hour that they sent the email. I hadn’t received anything, so I thought it had to be spam. Then I bought more storage and everything came through,” he said.
The offer of customising purchases has gone down well with shoppers, with more than 95% of people buying clothes in-store choosing to get them embroidered.
“A lot of the pieces are on average £100 to £200, so there’s pressure. The embroidery has to come out perfect and the exact order that they want. If you made a spelling mistake it would be awful,” Sul said.
Sul works from his studio on the corner of Stafford Street, which has been owned by his family for over 40 years.
Since buying into his dad’s business and rebranding it as ICE, he has been attracting younger customers through posting his custom designs on Instagram. His account has more than 30,000 followers.
Working out of the one world’s most famous department stores is a big change from his small shop in Grangetown, but Sul isn’t letting it distract him from the job.
“On Sunday night when I’m done, that’s when I’ll take it all in and reflect. But right now I just want everything to go perfect.”
- ICE is offering free embroidery with any in-store purchase in Selfridges until Sunday.
