A taste of Jamaican chocolate

What happens when you take a six foot five Jamaican Englishman, train him in fashion design and let him loose in Australia?

The answer to that question is Chocolate City, the edgy fashion label created by Richard Wiggan that has just opened its first retail outlet in Greville Street, the hip offshoot of fashion heartland Chapel Street.
Having successfully wholesaled to around 30 independent boutiques across Australia for the past three and a half years, Chocolate city also plans to expand its range dramatically for winter 2007 and will launch kidswear and footwear over the coming months.

Wiggan also has firm plans to operate five retail stores in Australia within the next three years; with plans for another in Melbourne as well as one each in Sydney, Perth and either the Gold Coast or Adelaide. Meanwhile, overseas wholesale expansion into the UK, Japan and Italy, is also on his agenda.

Manufactured wholly in Australia, Chocolate City currently comprises a 50 strong collection divided evenly between men and women, with prices ranging from $70 for tees to $210 for jeans and $699 for premium quality leather jackets.
"I'm always looking for a fresh, new and different take on contemporary streetwear. The range is very high quality, using the best materials like Italian leather and premium wool for the knitwear. The kind of customer I target has a strong fashion sense and is always looking for something individual. He or she tends to be a leader rather than a follower," said Wiggan.

This winter would see Chocolate City further expanding its collection with a strong focus on knitwear and a broadened denim range including denim shirts with knitted sleeves, he added.
Wiggan described the brand's motto as "global village", and it seems fair to assume that extensive travel and a fusion of English and Jamaican culture has given him the right to do so. It might also explain the feeling that the world is well within Wiggan's reach.

"I've got friends who have done extremely well by focusing on the local market. I think ultimately it depends on what type of person you are, but I tend to look at things on a larger scale and for me it's natural to want to have the brand in as many countries as possible."