Giving back in style

Five One Nine Clothing Company apparel, now available at the King’s Connection, will allow you to show your Forest City pride while also helping your community.

The Five One Nine Clothing Company is the result of three King’s University College students who combined their passion for fashion and their desire to give something back to their hometown community.

The company was co-founded by King’s School of MEM students Tyler Wilson and Taylor Norris in the fall of 2017.  While Wilson has since moved on, the company is now run by Norris and a first-year King’s BMOS student, Broder Currie.

All of the company’s apparel, which ranges from hoodies, athletic wear to polo shirts, features the 519 logo, a nod to the area’s predominant area code, and a graphic depicting the coordinates of London’s downtown core.

The clothes have been designed with the help of a Fanshawe College art student and are printed and manufactured locally. In addition to King’s, Five One Nine apparel is also being sold online and at Body by Lagree Fitness Studio.

The entrepreneurs wanted to offer high quality clothes they themselves would want to wear. At the same time, they also wanted to leave their mark on the Forest City in a positive way.

“Tyler and I wanted to become more involved in the community and we loved the city,” Norris says. “When we initially started, we were basically doing it for the experience and to help enhance our learning at King’s. We wanted to find a way to also give back to the community and I am so grateful to be able to say that we have created an organization that is able to support initiatives such as mental health.”

A portion of sales from Five One Nine brand clothing will go to support mental health initiatives at FEMAP (First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program), which is run by the London Health Sciences Centre. The program helps older teens and young adults (ages 16-25) with emotional concerns that fall into the categories of mood and/or anxiety symptoms and provide a safe and confidential place for youth to get help early, before symptoms begin to disrupt lives.

“Many of my friends have been affected by (FEMAP) so the fact that I have been provided the opportunity to make a difference within the community … is truly amazing and has reinforced my love for the city,” Norris says.

The success of the Five One Nine brand recently netted the entrepreneurs a meeting with London Mayor Matt Brown.

“It’s really cool that a year ago, we just started coming up with the idea of creating a business and already we are being recognized by people such as the Mayor!” Norris says. “He’s an awesome guy and we are so grateful for all of the opportunities that we have gotten as well as all of the support.”

Come to the King’s Connection to see Five One Nine branded apparel for yourself, or visit fiveonenineclothing.com.