With over 10 years of working at the heart of the fashion industry, Awana founder Ben Allen unites his love for both craft and the world with his first creative offering.

Ben’s journey in fashion started aged 16, modelling in London before his debut runway season launched an international career. Whilst working for some of the industry’s most prominent brands, his love for fashion catalysed behind the scenes into a desire to create something of his own. Years later, whilst assisting a creative director in Paris, he learned how to collect ideas from the world around him and actualise them into collections. 

His links to Peru originate through his family. The Peruvian capital of Lima is where Ben’s step-mother was born and raised. Through successive family visits, he knew this was the place he wanted to base his brand. Ben’s family have known and worked with the same manufacturers for over 25 years, whom he now works with himself, continuing a long running multi-generational relationship.

In knitwear, Ben finds a medium where craft, design, and practicality come together. Ben uses the freedom and flexibility of knitwear to create garments that are designed to be worn over and over again. His goal is to deliver the world their favourite sweater from a source and style they can trust; Awana is about weaving your own memories with the clothes you wear.