KTOU started as a name between friends, a group of us brought together by the idea of unity, back when adventure was the only thing on the agenda. The original meaning behind the acronym is still known by very few and we'd like to keep it that way for now. What we can tell you is that out of that original group, two of us held onto the name. We’re still friends, now in our early twenties and still connected by the same name. And we turned something that was ours into something we hope can be yours too.

We wanted to make clothing that actually means something. Not in a vague, inspirational poster kind of way, but designs that start from a real idea and carry it through to what you put on in the morning. The thread running through everything we make is the metaphors we see in everyday life. The things that are hard to say out loud but feel right when you see them.

Every piece in our current collection is rooted in mental health. Not as a trend or an aesthetic, but because it's the most quietly powerful force in our lives. Shaping how we think, how we feel and who we become. We didn't learn much about it growing up. Most people don't. So we design around it. One of our pieces is a tree built entirely from the words "Real growth takes time" That's what we mean. Ideas that are worth sitting with, worn in a way that makes them easier to carry.

It's the thing we care most about. There's still a lot of stigma and silence around mental health and we think that needs to change, not through grand gestures, but through honest conversation, one at a time. Our dedicated mental health section is our small contribution to that. It's not professional advice. It's just everything we wish had been a little easier to find.
For more information and resources on mental health, please visit our dedicated page here