MCINO is a premium lifestyle clothing brand. Founded in Dublin in 2018, by Tope Akinwale and Nikolaj Jasenko it’s gone from strength to even greater strength since, with numerous celebrities – including the legendary 50 Cent – being spotted wearing the brand and looking extra primed and ready. The latest dope? MCINO has just released the new Monogram Collection for summer – and it’s a knockout...

Our starter for ten: where’d that dynamite name come from?
MCINO stands for “Money Comes In Not Out”. A phrase used by Tope and his friends in the local area. It’s pronounced “em-see-no”! Works a dream on google searches!

So how did the brand start?
Tope and Niko met studying Computer Science in UCD. Tope wanted a hobby to take his mind off the stress of university. Given his love of fashion, a clothing brand seemed the perfect outlet. Tope and Niko used to take two buses to UCD – they started planning everything at the back of the bus, and getting initial designs done. Before long they were building a following.

The first release must have been some moment!
It was! MCINO started off with a line called “Gang and Family” which had 50 basic T-shirts. They promoted the brand through Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter – Tiktok hadn’t arrived. The Urban scene in Ireland was growing so T and N invited different Irish artists to wear the brand in their videos. They were pushing an open door. The artists loved MCINO.

Is the brand aimed at men or women?
Brothers and sisters. When Covid hit, Tope and Niko saw an opportunity and got busy. They began doing men’s clothing, but their DMs were quickly flooded with women buying the men’s line – and screaming that they wanted their own one too. MCINO recently released their flagship women’s ‘Fits like a Glove Collection’. It’s “a real fan favourite amongst the girls.”

Whisper it: celebrities are wearing MCINO...
Listen – MCINO has been endorsed by a host of celebrities. Hip Hop heroes 50 Cent and Tony Yayo; Nigerian Afrobeat legend Davido; international artists like Tion Wayne, Naira Marley, Zinoleesky and C-Biz; Love Island stars like Indiyah Polack, Dami Hope and Martin Akinola; Ian Maatsen who’ll play the Champions League Final with Dortmund – they’ve all been sporting MCINO. The list gets longer!

Giggs and 50 Cent

What’s MCINO’s take on diversity and inclusion?
Tope is Irish-Nigerian and Niko is Irish-Lithuanian. It makes sense that they’ve a very strong stance on diversity and inclusion. MCINO’s goal is to give people the opportunity to express themselves through fashion. Tope and Niko have shown that people from completely different backgrounds and parts of the world can collaborate to create something unique.

We hear this Monogram Collection is bit special...
You said it. The boys are currently working on the launch. They flew to Spain to shoot the campaign video. It’s super-cool. Recently a lot of orders have been winging in from the US – they’ll be heading there next, to do events and engage directly with their audience! The collection includes a Monogram pattern design – on a Windbreaker, Swimshorts, T-shirts, and more. The collection uses carefully designed patterns that fit together eloquently. The MCINO crew always go the extra mile in terms of design quality and wow factor. They’ve done it again with the Monogram Collection.

Is that crystal ball telling you anything?
I’m looking, I’m looking! In terms of the business, they’re locked-in on accelerating its growth while keeping the community they’ve built at the centre. That’s important. My crystal ball tells me they’re going to do just that, with knobs on. Watch… this… space!

• Check out MCINO at mcinofamily.com, instagram: _mcino_