Abolaji Muiz Otiki positions BKS as a working creative infrastructure within UK fashion economy
Abolaji Muiz Otiki is building Born Killers (BKS) as a functioning alternative to how emerging creatives typically access the UK fashion industry, shifting away from the idea of fashion as standalone output and toward a more structured, working system. Founded in Leicester in 2025, BKS is being developed as a platform that brings together design, […]
Abolaji Muiz Otiki is building Born Killers (BKS) as a functioning alternative to how emerging creatives typically access the UK fashion industry, shifting away from the idea of fashion as standalone output and toward a more structured, working system. Founded in Leicester in 2025, BKS is being developed as a platform that brings together design, physical activations, and creative programming into a model that can operate consistently over time.
Rather than positioning itself through traditional fashion cycles, BKS has been shaped through real, on-the-ground activity. This includes pop-up activations across Leicester and Birmingham, with one of its Birmingham events delivered in collaboration with Heritage Entertainment, bringing together creatives across fashion, music, and performance. These activations have allowed the platform to test how creative work can exist within shared spaces while building a more repeatable structure.
Muna, Creative Director at Heritage Entertainment, highlighted the broader impact of the collaboration: “BKS showcases bring community into fashion and art in a way that feels both natural and necessary. What Abolaji is building is genuinely impressive, creating space for people who do not always feel like they fit within traditional structures and giving them a voice.”
A defining moment for the platform came with “The Rewired Session,” a solo event hosted in Leicester which brought together over 100 attendees. The event extended beyond showcasing garments, creating a live environment where emerging artists were able to perform and present their work directly to an audience, some for the first time. “It was important that it wasn’t just about the brand,” Otiki said. “It was about creating a space where people could actually show what they’ve been working on.”
This approach has also begun to attract attention from academic and institutional spaces. Mundeep Panayi (FHEA), Career Development Manager in the Faculty of Technology, Arts and Culture at De Montfort University, noted: “Born Killers is a very interesting and inspiring brand. It has the potential to support the creative community in Leicester, while also creating meaningful opportunities for students and alumni to engage with the industry in a more accessible way.”
As BKS continues to evolve, Otiki’s focus remains on consistency and scale, taking what has worked in individual activations and developing it into something more structured and repeatable. In doing so, the platform is beginning to position itself not just as a participant in the UK fashion space, but as a working model for how creative infrastructure can be built from the ground up.
“Being a Born Killer is knowing you have something great to showcase to the world and having the confidence to stand on it,” he said, underscoring a philosophy that continues to shape his growing influence within the UK’s creative landscape.