TWO friends who met at primary school have launched their own fashion range with a new shop in York to showcase their clothes.

George Hampshire and David Bellwood created the brand Giungla Amore after finishing university when they wanted to create designer street wear, which was stylish and original as well as comfortable.

After months of work designing and sampling, they launched their first collection and a website and worked on building their social media profile. With sales going well, they have now opened their first Giungla Amore store in York Designer Outlet.

“We met at school when we were five,” said George, who is now 24 and originally from Barthorpe near Acklam. “We have been best mates ever since. We played rugby together, mucked around together, then in February we thought we would start a clothing brand.

“We developed some design ideas and they looked cool. We approached manufacturers, then we got some samples through. We want to provide value for money. People nowadays are providing £3 t-shirts and selling them for £50.”

He said most of their products were 100 per cent cotton, or with five per cent elastic to keep their shape.

“We are trying to keep that quality and it is great value for money.”

At the Designer Outlet their t-shirts retail at £18, compared to the online RRP of £30.

The pair who, both live in York, initially had their products manufactured in Turkey before moving the work to Manchester.

“Dave has a real passion for fashion and wanted to create stuff he wanted to wear,” said George.

“It was going well online but we wanted people to see and feel the quality and comfort of the product so that next progression was working out of a venue and getting ourselves among other designer brands. There’s no better place than the Designer Outlet.

“As soon as people feel the product they can feel the quality and it is also the original designs that draw people’s eyes.”

Garments which have so far proved a hit include a baby blue sweatshirt and a black one with yellow and white panels.

The duo are now finalising their designs for a second collection.

“We have been open for two weeks. It is going seriously well,” said George. “Word of mouth has spread. People are coming in because their mates and other people are saying it is time there was something like this.”

David, 25, who is originally from Buttercrambe, said: “We launched the clothing line together and in such a short time period it has taken off and obviously this was a risk as it’s a highly competitive market.

“However with our designs and quality they really do speak for themselves. Our vision is to make this one of the biggest street wear brands, but also to leave a legacy behind and for this to carry on into the future.”