RESHAPING STREETWEAR: A CONVERSATION WITH PETER AND EGOR

Fashion is a mirror of culture, creativity, and individuality, but for Peter and Egor, the founders of Protect LDN, it is also a magnificent story. This is the story of a deep-rooted friendship. At the heart of their streetwear brand - Protect LDN - lies a synergy, that goes beyond fabrics and trends—a shared journey of exploration, passion, and reinvention.

Peter and Egor, best friends since the age of 16, started Protect LDN from their shared love for clothes. What began as a desire to create pieces they’d want to wear, evolved into a brand that reflects their growth. As their personal styles have changed, so have their designs—always adapting naturally, with each piece telling the story of their friendship and creative journey. Over the years, their styles and designs have evolved, maturing into more elevated, intricate creations. They want to reflect their personality in the brand. This organic development is what makes Protect LDN more than just a brand; it is a chronicle of their personal and creative evolution.

Your project is so singular and particular; what is the spark that inspired both of you? How do you integrate your personalities and individual styles into your creative work?

The initial idea was to create things we wanted to wear ourselves, which is still true to this day. Our personal styles have changed a lot as we go, and the brand sort of follows that change. We’re working on numerous things which we wouldn’t have gravitated towards 2 years ago, because they’re slightly more elevated or toned down. So, if our interests grow / change, we do try to slowly integrate that into the brand, if it fits. We think that’s pretty important to the development of a brand.

Tell us about Protect LDN; how the birth of your brand has influenced your lives and your vision of things, especially on fashion.

Before starting the brand, we’d go into a store and see clothes as whether they’re cool or not. Now, more often than not, you look at the way the garment was made, how safe the brand is playing it, if they’re trying something new, where they’re drawing inspiration from, etc. Over time I suppose you learn to look at fashion beyond simply how it looks.

I had the chance to see your videos, on your YouTube channel; can you describe a moment in which your project took a totally unexpected direction? In your opinion, does the work of a creative, as you are, require spontaneity or structured processes? What do you suggest to a creative? Do you feel inspirational?

We started from very little technical knowledge of making clothes, let alone running a business. So initially we had no structure whatsoever in how we worked. It was the two of us, in our first flat away from home, making designs, generating ideas 24/7.

Aside from that we had the blessing of a successful first drop, which took us by surprise. We had no reference point of how the brand would do at the start, so after that first drop, it’s a matter of learning as you go and fine-tuning your process each time.

To answer your question, there’s a balance you need between a spontaneous and structured process. Neither will work solely on its own. At least that’s what we’ve found. There’s no formula. You mentioned YouTube - The Protect Show was a simple idea we had of documenting what we do behind the scenes. We thought it was the kind of thing we would’ve loved to watch back in school.

When you’re super interested in something, but maybe you haven’t started yet, or you’re not sure how any of it works. If it is inspirational to anyone that watches, that’s super rewarding to us. If not, we hope it’s at least entertaining.

What is it like to face a shared creative work? What unites you more than anything else, besides your brand?

What makes it easy is that before being business partners we were already best friends. So, it was born as a shared idea if that makes sense. From a practical perspective, it works by sharing tasks. We each have our strengths and it’s simply a matter of making them work together. This might also be because we’ve had a shared creative process since the beginning, but by being 2 people, the ideas flow more easily. We can easily bounce ideas off each other, discuss what we think is cool or not cool, share opinions and reach solutions.

Is there an object or a moment that symbolizes your creative synergy, even among the garments you have designed?

There’s no specific moment; it’s an accumulation of the years we spent being friends before being business partners.

We grew up in a place which didn’t have much of a creative culture – at least not in our circles. Part of the reason we became friends was our shared interest in clothing and streetwear. So, in those years we kinda did our own thing and learnt what we liked through the things we saw online but couldn’t be a part of. All of that lead us to have a pretty shared creative energy/vision.

Has your creative approach changed over time? How?

At the beginning, since we started it together, we developed a very “closed circle” process. We worked on everything ourselves, because we knew our taste and trusted the way we went about things.

We’re slowly opening this process up more - involving more people into the design process, idea generation, shoots, etc. It’s hard at first to give up responsibility and trust others on things you usually handle, but it’s definitely a necessary step and you quickly see the benefits of it.

Do you remember what you felt when you saw your garments worn for the first time? What did you think? How did you feel?

Honestly one the of best parts of owning a clothing brand is seeing others wearing your clothes. We spend days or months working on our pieces, we’ve got a lot of designs and ideas which we always have to narrow down.

We go through multiple samples; some are amazing, and some are terrible, so once you reach a final product it feels good. And it feels even better to see others sharing your vision and love for the product.

Wearing something is not simply choosing garments and getting dressed; what do you think the desire to wear a pair of jeans or a Protect LDN belt brings with it?

At the end of the day, we just make clothes. We pay attention the details, the fit, the quality, and most importantly whether we genuinely like it or not.

In everything we do, we try to make sure people are wearing our clothes not just because they enjoy the way they look, but also because they resonate with the brand, our image, and what we stand for. If we’ve got the protect family feeling like a boss stepping outside, then we’ve succeeded.

What is the idea of style for Peter and Egor?

Whatever you think looks fly on you.

What is a trend for you? How do you imagine future trends will influence your life and your creations? Still talking about trends, what do you think about the topic of sustainability?

Trends come and go but they’re mostly rooted in what’s currently happening in the culture that they’re a part of. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them, they can be great. What’s important is not abandoning your image, your ideas, simply to accommodate current trends. It goes back to balance. We also wouldn’t necessarily categorize sustainability as a trend – people are just becoming more conscious of the impact of clothes on the environment. Hopefully that doesn’t die off.

We’re extremely grateful for the position we’re in. Blessed to have such a supportive community. We’ll keep doing what we do, creating garments that we enjoy sharing with others. Got loads of exciting things we’re working on in 2025, and we’re just looking forward to being able to share everything.

Protect loves you!