About
About
Skinheads, Mods, Rockers, Punks, Britpop boys, Rude Girls and Indie kids have all found their home in Margate, it’s a tribal place.
The originals tip the new ones about good tunes and help the young’uns smarten up. Each generation helps outthe next and pensioners are often as cool as teenagers.Seventy years of youth culture run through Margate like letters through rock.
At Rat Race, you’ll find people who always knew Margate was cool. They do not see the new breed as a subculture revival; they knew the styles had never gone away.
“We’ve been the South-East England’s destination for customers looking for something more than a just clothes shop, Rat Race is where Margate’s young heart beats.
Initially starting off with one shop located on Margate’s High Street back in 2008, we have gone from strength to strength and went on to occupy three adjoining units along the High Street.
A fresh rebranding came with the birth of Rat Race in the Spring of 2014. We spent the next four years building our brand and ever-growing customer base".
Mods & Skins alike now travel to Margate not only for the rich subculture history that the town has to offer but to stop by at Rat Race to experience the best of the towns subculture heritage embedded in the style, music and most importantly; the people.
At Rat Race, they are firm believers that it’s the people and the community spirit that make the town what it is today. They are actively involved in supporting many aspects of Margate’s subculture community, getting involved in many local events and initiatives. They have forged strong bonds with their customers, creating a local community atmosphere that is welcoming to people from all walks of life.
“Customer service is a key aspect of Rat Race’s philosophy and we always go the extra mile to keep our customers happy and looking sharp throughout the year”.
“We keep an ear to the ground when it comes to new styles and classic pieces our that customers desire. This led us to engage with subculture brands to produce new styles.
Our creation of the classic tonic skirt and the redesigned and ever popular waffle knit cardigan can now be seen throughout the country and world alike with few people knowing their recent origins coming through Rat Race”.
We have built relationships with some of British subcultures finest including Neville Staple of The Specials, John Sims aka ‘Teflon’ (legendary original 2Tone designer), Dave Barker, Pete Doherty and DJ Eddie Piller amongst other celebrity customers.
At Rat Race, we indulge our passion for subculture music every day. With an assortment of regular in-store DJ’s and popular event nights in local Margate clubs, live in-store bands and acoustic sets, we strive to keep Margate’s beat in time.
2019 came a change of ownership. Nick Young and Lorraine Johnson became the new owners.
Myself and Lorraine were happy to be given the opportunity to continue the business when Laurence decided to take a different direction in life after the birth of his first child. We acknowledge the vision Laurence had of a heritage menswear store in Margate, and will endeavor to continue to serve our loyal customers from the UK and abroad, both through our shop at its fabulous new location, and online.
Both Lorraine and myself were revivalist mods here in Margate and still have many friends from the scene, both mod and skin from back in the day, and from those we’ve met since. We both DJ together playing the sounds from that era on vinyl. We thoroughly enjoy meeting and chatting with our customers here in-store, where we shall continue to stock the iconic heritage brand clothing we all love.