Q&A with Frank Akinsete

Frank Akinsete’s Souled Out at House of Provenance is a vintage clothing and accessories boutique in Portobello Road Market. We spoke to Frank to find out more about his stall.

Tell us about your business - what do you sell, when did you start, how long have you been trading at Portobello market?

My name is Frank Akinsete. I’ve got a stall on Fridays and Saturdays outside the health food shop in Portobello Road, opposite the 281 Portobello Road shopping arcade. I sell loads of 70s vintage dresses, and other vintage pieces. They are all individually selected by me. I don’t buy in bulk. I have a background in fashion as a stylist so a lot of my stuff is sourced for the fashion industry, particularly on Fridays for the market

What inspired you to start selling vintage clothing?

Vintage has always been in my life. Going back right to the 60s when I was a toddler I used to get dragged to jumble sales by my mother and my sister, so I’ve always known ‘second hand’ as it was called then as opposed to vintage. I’ve always liked individual clothing and expensive clothing and that was all I required. Then what was sort of a passion and a hobby became my job.

Who are your favourite designers?

My favourite era is by far the 70’s. I love some of the 60’s, I love some of the 50’s, but I’m very much all about the 70’s. I love the decadence, the cut, the styles. It’s brands like Biba, Ozzy Clark and Jean Veront to name a few which really float my boat.

Who do you admire in the fashion world?

Anybody who stays the course to be honest with you. To my taste, personally Tom Ford when he was at Gucci was my favourite. I love Alessandro Michele at Gucci now - I love how far out that is. But Tom was my boy: genius! Alexander McQueen no doubt. There’s nobody like him. There are other people I like but those are my favourites.

Do you have any hopes or aspirations for when things get back to normal?

I don't think there is ever going to be a normal because we’ve been affected by what's happened, but it will be nice to be out there with people again. I enjoyed when we went back for that short intermission in between lockdowns, just running up to the end of the year 2020. It was nice to see people saying that everything has changed. We have a completely different audience in Portobello, the shoppers are now local and UK visitors. There are very few people from abroad. In time hopefully that will change and we will have some more overseas shoppers, but I always try to look on the positive side of things. I think the prolonged lockdown has changed the market, meaning there will be more craft and what I call authentic stalls, less commercial items. So maybe in the long term it will end up being better, you have to see things that way.

Where would you recommend a friend to go for food and drink in Portobello?

I’d go to the Juice Cafe on Portobello Road.