Chelsea and England footballer Raheem Sterling has suffered a blow to his business ambitions as his fashion brand, 1692 Fashion Limited, has officially collapsed. The company, which Sterling co-founded in May 2021, has been dissolved after racking up significant losses that exceeded £1.05 million (over $1.3 million USD) in its first two years of trading. The closure marks a difficult end to a venture that had a highly publicised debut at London Fashion Week.
Named 1692 as a nod to a famous earthquake in his Jamaican birthplace, Sterling launched the brand with British designer Samiya Miah, aiming to produce a line of “clean unisex pieces in utilitarian-inspired silhouettes.” Despite the high profile of its founder, the business struggled financially from the start, recording losses of £675,000 in its first year alone. Sterling’s co-founder, Miah, resigned as a director in January 2024.
The official end came after the company failed to file its mandated accounts for the 2023-24 financial year end. Companies House issued a compulsory strike-off warning, which the business did not contest. The Raheem Sterling Fashion Brand 1692 is now officially struck off the register and dissolved, concluding its brief and challenging foray into the competitive fashion world.
The financial failure of the Raheem Sterling Fashion Brand 1692 follows the collapse of another startup, Oja, that Sterling had backed as a minority shareholder in 2023. This outcome highlights the risks inherent in celebrity-backed ventures and adds to a period of professional turbulence for the 30-year-old footballer, who has endured a difficult spell at his current club.
