If you like Story MFG, the brands worth knowing are Kapital, Bode, Kartik Research, Kardo, Nicholas Daley, YMC and Universal Works, with small-run independents such as Phrase Studios worth a look if what you value most is a garment made in limited numbers. Story mfg. is a British label founded by Saeed and Katy Al-Rubeyi, built on natural plant dyes, hand craft and small runs made with artisan partners in India, so the useful comparisons are labels that work slowly and by hand rather than labels that simply look similar.
That distinction matters, because Story MFG does several things at once. Colour that comes from plants. Crochet, hand embroidery and visible making. A soft, slightly wonky silhouette. And a supply chain the brand talks about openly. Very few labels do all of that together, so most of the names below are strong on one or two parts of it. Knowing which part you actually want makes the list much easier to use.
If you like the natural dyes and the hand craft
These are the labels where the making is the point. Expect visible hand-work, irregular colour and pieces that keep changing after you buy them.
- Kapital is the Japanese label based in Kojima, Okayama, founded by Toshikiyo Hirata and designed by his son Kiro Hirata. Its indigo dyeing, patchwork and boro-influenced repair work are probably the closest thing in spirit to Story MFG anywhere, although the styling is louder and far more eclectic.
- Bode, founded in New York by Emily Adams Bode Aujla, builds garments from antique textiles, quilts and hand embroidery, which means a lot of pieces are effectively one of a kind. It sits in luxury territory, but the respect for old cloth and slow hand-work comes from the same instinct.
- Kartik Research, founded by Kartik Kumra and formerly known as Karu Research, works with craft workshops in India on hand embroidery, natural dyeing and hand-loomed cloth. If the India-made, artisan-led side of Story MFG is what draws you in, this is the most direct comparison on the list.
- Kardo, founded by Rikki Kher, makes shirting and easy separates in India with a great deal of hand-finishing, block prints and natural dyeing. It is quieter than Story MFG and easier to wear day to day.
If you like the British, considered-menswear side
Story MFG is a British brand, and part of its appeal is how it sits in a longer British tradition of craft-minded, unhurried menswear. These three approach that from different angles.
- Nicholas Daley is a London-based designer whose work draws on his Scottish and Jamaican heritage and on music culture, made with specialist mills and makers. The craft credentials are serious and the colour sense is closer to Story MFG than most British labels get.
- YMC, short for You Must Create, was founded by Fraser Moss and Jimmy Collins in 1995. It is less craft-obsessed, but it shares the relaxed shapes, the muted palette and the absence of loud branding.
- Universal Works, the Nottingham label co-founded by David Keyte, builds workwear-derived staples meant to be worn hard and repaired rather than replaced. If you like the shapes but want something plainer and more everyday, start here.
Small-run independents that do not restock
The other thing people like about Story MFG is scarcity. Pieces are made in genuinely small numbers, and when a run is gone it is gone. That is a separate quality from natural dyeing, and it is where smaller studios tend to live. If that is your main draw, our guide to small and underrated streetwear brands covers more names in that lane.
Phrase Studios is our own studio, so read this as a declared interest. We are independent, based in Ghent, Belgium, founded in 2023, and we work under the line "From friends, to friends". We release numbered chapters in small runs that we do not restock, which is the part of the Story MFG approach we genuinely share. The honest difference is the cloth: ours is heavyweight cotton, cut for weight and structure, not naturally dyed, so the hand-feel and the way it ages are nothing like a plant-dyed piece. If that trade suits you, the hoodies and sweatshirts and the tees are the sensible place to start.
What to check before you buy
Slow and natural are easy words to put on a label, so it is worth reading past them. A few practical checks separate the brands that do the work from the ones that borrow the language.
- The dye: does the brand name the plant, the dyehouse or the method, or does it only say natural? Specifics are a good sign.
- The making: which country, and which workshop or mill? Brands that work with artisan partners usually name them.
- The run size: a piece made once in small numbers behaves very differently from a permanent line, not least in whether you can ever replace it.
- The care: naturally dyed cotton and heavyweight cotton want different treatment, and the label should tell you which you are holding.
If the sustainability side is your priority rather than the craft look, our roundup of sustainable streetwear brands is a better starting point than this list.
None of these are straight swaps for Story MFG. Kapital and Bode share the hand-work but not the price or the palette. Kartik Research and Kardo share the India-made craft but sit further from streetwear. The British three share the temperament rather than the technique. And small studios like ours share the small-run logic while working in a completely different cloth. Pick the part you actually care about, and the right name on this list becomes obvious.
FAQ
What kind of brand is Story MFG?
Story mfg. is a British label founded by Saeed and Katy Al-Rubeyi that makes clothing with natural plant dyes and a lot of hand craft, produced in small runs with artisan partners in India. It is usually filed under slow fashion rather than streetwear, because the making, the dyeing and the supply chain are the whole point of the brand.
Which brands are most similar to Story MFG?
Kapital is the closest in spirit, with its indigo dyeing, patchwork and visible repair work. Kartik Research and Kardo are the closest on the India-made craft side, Bode on hand-worked and one-off pieces, and Nicholas Daley, YMC and Universal Works on the British, considered-menswear side. None of them are a straight swap, so it depends which part of Story MFG you are chasing.
Do naturally dyed clothes fade?
Yes, and that is expected. Plant dyes shift with washing, sunlight and wear, which is why naturally dyed pieces look different after a year. You can slow it down by washing cold, washing inside out, using a gentle detergent and drying out of direct sun, but the colour will still move. If you want a shade that stays exactly as bought, a naturally dyed garment is the wrong choice.
