Shop our top picks of the fashion brand supporting mental health

Statement and slogan t-shirts are everywhere. Almost every high-street retailer or designer label has cottoned onto the trend, but there’s one brand’s tees that possess a meaning far deeper than the rest.

Maison de Choup - or House of Choup, if French isn’t your thing - is a fashion brand that was born out of anxiety and crippling OCD.

George Hodgson, 21, who lives in Hampshire, is the young man who turned his three years of poor mental health into a successful fashion label - a brand that gives 25 per cent of all proceeds to YoungMinds, the mental health charity for children and adolescents.

We spoke to George about his label, and what makes it so different: “This brand has helped people see that others suffer too. It’s about helping people seek therapy, telling them they can do it.”

“Seeing someone like me come through and talk about it so positively can help. What they’re buying is the story, everyone loves the clothes - it’s a varied audience.”

George was referred to CAHMS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service), and soon a private psychiatrist after his anxiety turned into major OCD in which he wasn’t able to touch anything without washing his hands thoroughly or barely leave his house.

He continued: “My world shrunk. I stuck to my bedroom for a good three years, disconnecting myself from friends. They understood, I told them I wasn’t very well.

“How terrifying it was to always be in that state… What’s the next trigger? When is it going to attack me? It was an exhausting, overwhelming fear.”

After many therapy sessions, he began to recover and soon, he took trips to his father’s office - who’s a graphic designer.

Photoshop became George’s outlet to show how he was feeling on any given day from his condition: “I was messing on with drawings [from] a little black notebook I had… I thought, maybe I could put these somewhere to promote mental health.”

Then, his idea for Maison de Choup came to life, and he successfully printed his first collection with a small company in Overton. By August 2015, his brand had launched.

Slogan t-shirts and printed hoodies are prevalent in George’s collections, but they all stand for feelings related to anxiety, OCD and even depression. All of his designs are simple, yet give a powerful message and, crucially, a great deal of hope for those suffering.

If you want to know more about George and Maison de Choup, read our interview - or if you want a piece of the brand, check out our top five tees from the label - there’s a t-shirt for anyone.

Remember, all of Maison de Choup‘s profits go to YoungMinds. You can sport one of the biggest trends of 2017 and do something good for charity - that’s a win-win, right?

1) Maison de Choup’s red embroidered tee, £35

2) Maison de Choup’s ‘Warrior’ tee in yellow, £35

3) Maison de Choup’s ‘Words Fail Me’ tee in white, £28

4) Maison de Choup’s ‘Faces’ tee, £35

5) Maison de Choup’s ‘Cognoscenti’ tee, reduced to £12

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