The Manchester-based label brought its growing fashion universe to the runway, marking another step in its journey from an independent British brand to a wider cultural and international presence.
MANCHESTER, UK • 2026
Manchester’s relationship with fashion has always been closely connected to music, nightlife, youth culture and creative independence.
Now, DAB® is building its own place within that story.
The Manchester-based fashion label recently presented DAB® RUNWAY 2026, a showcase that brought together fashion, culture, community and the growing identity of the brand in one room.
For founder Damilola Akinlu Brown, the runway represented more than an opportunity to present clothing.
It was a statement of progression.
“Seeing DAB® on the runway was a major moment for us,” Brown says. “It allowed people to experience the brand beyond individual products. They could see the direction, the styling, the energy and the world we are building around DAB®.”
The event came at a significant point in the development of the label.
Over the past year, DAB® has expanded its catalogue, increased its visibility across the UK and continued developing a more recognisable design language.
But DAB® RUNWAY 2026 brought many of those elements together for the first time in a more complete fashion presentation.
From Product to Presentation
For many independent fashion labels, growth begins with products.
A T-shirt gains attention. A hoodie becomes popular. A cap or pair of sunglasses begins appearing repeatedly across social media.
Eventually, however, a brand has to answer a larger question:
What does the entire world of the label look like?
DAB® RUNWAY 2026 offered one answer.
The presentation featured models wearing pieces from across the brand’s expanding universe, demonstrating how individual DAB® products can work together as complete looks rather than isolated items.
The showcase also reflected the brand’s gradual movement towards a more considered balance between statement design and cleaner, more understated pieces.
Graphic T-shirts, structured outerwear, denim, headwear, eyewear and accessories all contribute to that wider identity.
Brown believes the runway format helps communicate something product photography alone cannot.
“When people see a full look moving on a runway, the product feels different,” he explains. “You understand the fit, the proportions and how different pieces connect with each other.”
That is becoming increasingly important as DAB® develops beyond its original streetwear foundation.
A Manchester Brand Thinking Bigger
DAB® was founded in Manchester and continues to operate from the city, where its showroom functions as both a retail environment and a physical meeting point for customers, artists, stylists and creatives.
The city remains central to the brand’s identity.
But its ambitions increasingly extend beyond Manchester.
The label has continued to reach audiences across the UK while receiving orders from customers internationally.
Its pieces have also been worn by artists and personalities including 2Baba, Stonebwoy, Rotimi and Bhadboi OML, contributing to growing visibility around the brand.
Still, Brown is careful not to position celebrity attention as the foundation of DAB®.
“The attention helps introduce people to the brand,” he says. “But the product has to give them a reason to stay.”
That principle was visible during DAB® RUNWAY 2026.
Rather than building the presentation around personalities, the focus remained on the clothing, styling and overall experience.
Building a Recognisable DAB® Language
DAB® takes its name from Brown’s initials — Damilola Akinlu Brown.
But the founder says the meaning of the brand has expanded considerably since its beginning.
“DAB® represents growth, progress and good success,” Brown says. “My initials may have started the story, but DAB® now represents everyone with the confidence to move forward, grow and succeed positively in their own way.”
That philosophy is increasingly reflected in the way the brand approaches design.
Some DAB® pieces use bold graphics, embroidery and highly visible branding.
Others rely more heavily on fabric, silhouette, construction and smaller details.
The brand’s recurring line —
PRECISION. CONFIDENCE. STYLE.
— has become a central part of that identity.
For Brown, the long-term objective is for customers to recognise the feeling of a DAB® product even before focusing on the logo.
“We think about quality, fit, details and presentation,” he says. “The goal is to build something recognisable as DAB®, not just because the name is printed on it.”
The runway offered an opportunity to test that philosophy in a different environment.
Under lighting, movement and styling, the collections were presented as part of a single visual language.
More Than a Fashion Show
DAB® RUNWAY 2026 also demonstrated the growing role of community within the brand.
Models, stylists, creatives, customers and supporters came together around the presentation, creating an atmosphere that extended beyond traditional retail.
For Brown, that community element is essential.
“Fashion is not only about selling clothing,” he says. “People connect with the journey of a brand, the experiences around it and what the brand represents.”
That approach has already influenced how DAB® operates outside the showroom.
Throughout 2026, the label increased its presence through cultural events, collaborations and activations across cities including Manchester, Liverpool and London.
The runway now adds another dimension.
Rather than only participating in external events, DAB® is beginning to create its own fashion moments.
That distinction may prove increasingly important as the brand develops.
Fashion, Music and Culture
The momentum surrounding DAB® has also begun extending beyond fashion into music and wider popular culture.
Following the runway, Nigerian artist Portable released a track titled “Oya Dab”, creating another timely cultural connection around the DAB name.
For the brand, the moment reflects the increasingly natural relationship between fashion, music and youth culture — three worlds that often move together.
It also arrives at a time when DAB® is becoming more visible among artists, creatives and audiences across both the UK and Africa.
While fashion remains at the centre of the brand, moments such as these demonstrate how the DAB® identity is beginning to exist within a broader cultural conversation.
Expanding the DAB® Universe
The DAB® catalogue has grown significantly.
T-shirts and hoodies remain an important part of the label, but the wider assortment now includes shirts, denim, womenswear, headwear, sunglasses, jewellery, watches, leather accessories and other lifestyle products.
The expansion is deliberate.
Brown wants customers to be able to enter the DAB® world through one category and gradually explore others.
Someone discovering the brand through a T-shirt may later add sunglasses, denim, a cap or accessories.
However, the founder says expansion has to remain controlled.
“You don’t have to produce everything at once,” he explains. “You have to understand what customers respond to, improve the product and keep developing.”
That mindset is increasingly shaping new collections.
The brand has placed greater emphasis on heavier fabrics, stronger embroidery, improved finishing, custom details and cleaner visual execution.
The objective is not simply to increase the number of products.
It is to improve the overall standard of the DAB® catalogue.
A Brand Becoming More Deliberate
One of the most noticeable changes around DAB® is the increasing attention placed on presentation.
Product photography, packaging, retail environments, campaign imagery, runway styling and the customer experience are becoming more connected.
It represents a shift familiar to many growing labels.
At the beginning, the focus is often on making products.
The next stage is creating a complete brand language around those products.
DAB® appears to be moving through that transition.
For Brown, consistency is becoming as important as visibility.
“Attention can come quickly in fashion,” he says. “The important thing is what you build underneath that attention.”
That includes manufacturing decisions, customer service, retail development, product quality and the discipline to remain selective about collaborations.
From Manchester to the World
The ambition behind DAB® remains significant.
Brown wants to build the label into a globally recognised British fashion house while keeping Manchester as an important part of its identity.
DAB® RUNWAY 2026 may therefore be remembered as more than another event in the brand’s calendar.
It represents a moment when DAB® began presenting itself not simply as a collection of products, but as a complete fashion proposition.
There is still considerable work ahead.
The brand continues to develop its retail strategy, strengthen its direct-to-consumer business and refine future collections.
But Brown believes the runway demonstrated how far the label has already travelled.
“We’re still building,” he says. “There’s much more I want DAB® to become. But the runway showed what is possible when the product, the people and the vision come together.”
Manchester remains the starting point.
But after DAB® RUNWAY 2026, the direction is becoming increasingly clear.
The story is getting bigger.
DAB® PRECISION. CONFIDENCE. STYLE.
