There is a quiet audacity in believing you can build something that outlives your circumstances. Not just a clothing brand, but a world. For Jabu Mavuso, founder and creative director of EMPIRE, that belief has never been abstract. It has always been lived, shared, and worn.

Before EMPIRE found its way onto stages, into studios, and across cities, it existed in smaller, more intimate spaces, between friends and among family. In rooms where ideas moved freely and belief was the only currency that mattered. It was never just about creating clothing. It was about building something that could hold people together, something that reflected both who they were and who they were becoming.

“In the early days, EMPIRE wasn’t just about selling clothes, it was about building something bigger than that,” Jabu says. “It started with the people around me. Friends, family, creatives who believed in the vision. We used to shoot content together, push the brand at events, share ideas. It really felt like a movement before it was a business. Everyone played a role, that’s why I say it was family.”

That closeness shaped the foundation. Jabu knew the people who wore EMPIRE, their stories, their ambitions, their realities. In return, they saw themselves reflected in what he was building. The brand became a mirror. A shared identity. A quiet declaration that where you come from does not limit where you are going.

As EMPIRE expanded, that intimacy stretched across geographies. The community grew into a network of people who may never meet Jabu personally, yet feel deeply connected to the message.

“The family is now spread across different cities and cultures, reaching people I may not know personally, but who still connect to the message,” he explains. “The challenge has been maintaining that closeness while scaling, and being intentional about how we show up through our social club events, music, and real engagement.”

That intentionality is what keeps EMPIRE grounded in a landscape where scale often comes at the cost of authenticity. Because EMPIRE doesn’t sit adjacent to culture, it exists within it.

To understand its language is to understand music. Not as a strategy, but as its origin story.

“Music has always been at the core of EMPIRE,” Jabu says. “Before anything, I was inspired by hip hop, street culture, and the energy that comes from people expressing themselves through sound, style, and attitude. The brand was never separate from music, it was born from it.”

This is why the relationship between EMPIRE and artists like Anatii and DJ Maphorisa feels effortless rather than engineered.

“Seeing artists like Anatii and DJ Maphorisa wear EMPIRE wasn’t something forced or overly strategic, it felt natural,” he reflects. “The clothes were created for creatives, for people chasing something bigger than where they come from. So it makes sense that musicians connect with it. They live that reality every day.”

In that intersection between sound and style, EMPIRE finds its most honest expression. When an artist wears the brand, it isn’t just about the look, it’s about what it represents.

And what it represents is something deeply rooted. Not borrowed. Not aestheticised. Lived.

“Everything we do is rooted in where we come from – the streets, the hustle, the ambition, the mindset. That’s why people connect to it. It’s real. It’s not something we tried to manufacture. It’s something we lived first, and then built into a brand.”

There is a clarity in how Jabu remembers the beginning. In 2015, the vision wasn’t framed as a business plan, but as a feeling.

“The idea was to create more than a product. I wanted to build something people could relate to, that feeling of coming from nothing and wanting to build your own empire, whatever that looks like for you.”

That feeling still anchors the brand, even as its realities evolve. The dreams of opening a store, of travelling the world through fashion, of turning imagination into infrastructure, are no longer distant.

“A big part of the dream for me was always to open a store and be able to travel the world through fashion, and now, to a certain extent, that’s happening, which is crazy to even think about.”

And yet, there is no illusion of completion.

“I do believe we’ve achieved a part of that vision,” he says. “The brand has connected people, it’s created a sense of belonging, and people genuinely relate to what EMPIRE stands for. But at the same time, I don’t think that feeling ever fully goes away. You’re always chasing the next level, always trying to grow it into something even bigger.”

That hunger is not rooted in lack, but in possibility.

“I’m proud of what we’ve built so far, but I’m still hungry. The vision doesn’t stop, it just evolves.”

In a global landscape where streetwear has become increasingly commercial, often losing its connection to the communities that inspired it, EMPIRE’s resistance lies in its proximity to truth.

“The way I protect EMPIRE’s identity is by staying grounded and staying close to the people who actually shape the culture,” Jabu explains. “I’m always on the ground, connecting with creatives, listening, understanding where people are at and what they’re going through. That’s where the real influence comes from.”

There is a refusal to dilute. A refusal to conform. A refusal to chase what is already circulating.

“It’s not about chasing trends or trying to fit into what streetwear globally looks like right now. It’s about being part of real stories. The more you’re tapped into that, the harder it is for the brand to lose its authenticity.”

And perhaps that is why EMPIRE resonates so deeply, the emotional weight it carries. It is not just worn. It is felt.

“When someone wears EMPIRE, I want them to feel like their dreams and aspirations are valid,” he says. “Like what they’re chasing matters, even if the world hasn’t fully seen it yet. Putting on an EMPIRE piece should feel like a form of self-validation, a reminder that you’re allowed to believe in your future.”

For a generation of young Black creatives building in real time, often without precedent, often without permission, that message lands with force. EMPIRE becomes more than fashion. It becomes affirmation. A language of belief. A quiet but steady insistence that you are allowed to become more than your circumstances.

And now, the brand stands at the edge of its next chapter, not as something seeking relevance, but as something stepping fully into its own becoming.

“The next phase of EMPIRE is all about becoming,” Jabu says. “It’s about stepping fully into everything we’ve been building towards and really solidifying what we stand for, not just as a brand, but as a cultural force.”

There is intention in that evolution.

“It means planting our flag properly in the game and owning our space as one of the leading streetwear brands in the country. Not by following what’s already been done, but by continuing to shape the culture in our own way.”

More drops. More events. More community. More collaboration. A deeper presence where it matters most.

Because EMPIRE was never about fitting into the world as it is.

It was always about giving people the language, and the courage, to build their own.