My career has taken me to many different places—from retail to design to journalism—and I’m grateful for the fact that every workplace I have crossed the threshold of has been one that champions the achievements of women. At Who What Wear UK, that’s something we as a team take a great deal of pride in. Every day, our editors work hard to support female-founded business, utilising this space to the best of our ability to spotlight women doing great things in the world of fashion and beauty.
Of course, great clothes and accessories can come from anywhere and anyone, but today, on International Women’s Day, it’s important to rally behind this exceptional community of female-identifying creatives. And one of the best ways we can do that as fashion editors is to bring them to the fore.
Ahead, we’ve profiled some of the most exciting independent, female-founded fashion brands you might be yet to discover and that bring something truly special to the fashion table.
Alexa Dagmar and Linda Juhola founded Almada Label in 2020 as a solution to their never-ending search for classic yet attainable garments. Both women spent years working as fashion content creators ahead of launching the quiet luxury brand and, speaking about taking the leap, they said, “we figured we wanted to create something of our own since we both already had the entrepreneurial aura in ourselves. We wanted to be able to control the entire process from production to branding and make all the decisions according to our vision. It took us two years and, honestly, many times of almost giving up to find the right contacts and factories that we felt comfortable working with before we were able to launch.” . Almada Label pieces transcend trends and are practically guaranteed to feel just as relevant in ten years time as they do now. So, what does the future hold for the Scandi brand? Inclusivity. “We love to see our pieces on all kinds of women and it has been a dream come true to witness our brand resonating with so many, from people in their mid-twenties to a more mature audience. As our resource grows, we also want to broaden the size selection to be even more inclusive.” Watch this space.
Anna October is the Ukrainian womenswear designer behind her namesake label, known for its dresses and use of light-catching satin fabrications. In the years since the brand first launched in 2010, it has become a bonafide fashion editor-favourite, even going as far as to be shortlisted for the covetable LVMH Prize in 2014. Anna, who relocated to Paris in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, made her Paris Fashion Week debut last year and recently showed again this season for autumn/winter 2023. When it comes to identifying her inspirations, it should come as no surprise that her heritage plays a significant role. “I am inspired by the idea that we are building our reality based on beliefs and ideas we trust in; that there are no limits and no rules, this always inspires me to push the boundaries,” explains October. “I am also inspired by people who are living it, the visionaries, people with opinions and position and powers to fight for it. The most inspiring people for me are Ukrainians, those who are defending the country, dignity, and culture. Women on the frontline and those who [are balancing]businesses and families, they are the real heroes.”
Lisou was founded by Rene Macdonald out of necessity—a desire to filla gap in the market which had previously been overlooked. Unenthused by an endless carousel of fabrics in greys and browns, and bored with spending one party too many in a little black dress, London-living Macdonald decided to bring some of the vibrant colour clashes of her homeland of Tanzania to the fashion obsessed out with the African continent. As a child, Macdonald sat at her mother’s knee listening to the whirr of her manual sewing machine. As her interest in fashion grew, she was able to learn firsthand from her mother. This bond is apparent in everything Lisou does, no less it’s name—the name Lisou is inspired by her mother’s childhood nickname for her. Indeed, her mother isn’t merely a parental figure, but her muse; a photograph of her sits pride of place on Macdonald’s design desk reminding her of their many cherished memories. An avid vintage collector and keen traveller, Macdonald is influenced by slow fashion and pieces to be enjoyed and handed down through generations. “I always remember events according to what I wore”, she tells me. How could she forget, when Lisou’s designs are as memorable as they are. An exploration of colour and print and texture, Lisou epitomises the notion of dopamine dressing. As her mother used to tell her, “‘so much of self-expression can be exhibited through clothing’. I find it’s also the one the few things we have control over in these turbulent times.”
Hai was founded in 2018 by Creative Director Tessa Vermeulen. Now based in London, Vermeulen grew up between China and The Netherlands and spent her late teens through early twenties in Shanghai. These formative years gave her an understanding of the quality of silk fabrics and the finesse of its craft, and served as an early inspiration for the brand. Drawing on memories of heavily embroidered silk bags, Vermeulen’s designs fuse tradition with streamlined, modern shapes for sleek, feminine pieces. Each Hai collection is created with women in mind—pieces that Vermeulen, the team and the entire Hai community want in their wardrobes. A potent blend of timelessness and fun, Hai pieces are designed to grow with you. Expanding on her inspiration, Vermeulen says, “Our earlier collections were shaped by our memories of dressing up, childhood, and the clothes our mothers wore. For our latest collection, we’ve shifted from our past to our future. We are constantly inspired by our friends and collaborators—how they make Hai their own and how the pieces adapt to their life. “One of the muses for our autumn/winter 2023 collection, which we just showed at London Fashion Week, is our dear friend and incredible musician, Xiaoqiao Wang. Wang has an amazing sense of style, very eclectic and ethereal, and she really embodies our brand.”
Through thoughtful tailoring, playful prints, and premium fabrics, It’s 9pm has created a loungewear capsule like no other; one designed to live, sleep and play in. Born out of a love of style and comfort, and a belief that the two can cohabit together. It’s 9pm’s first collection sees hand-painted stars, re-imagined artworks from old European silk mills, and a nostalgic ’70s colour palette combine to create an aesthetic that feels vibrant and, truly, a joy to wear. And yes, you read that right, this is It’s 9pm’s first collection. After working in the creative industry for 10 years, whipping up content and marketing plans for some pretty impressive household names, founder Amy Pass finally made her dream side-hustle into a reality. Speaking of the It’s 9pm ethos, she says, “I wanted to inject soul, vibrancy, and personality into a widely neutral (and muted!) loungewear market. From the branding itself to designing the prints, building the website, directing the shoots, securing wholesale stockists, learning how to write a press release—it truly is a one-woman band and I’m immersing myself in the process completely.”
Pond is an artisanal fashion jewellery brand that uses predominantly vintage jewellery, recycled metals, and dead stock as source materials, meaning its pieces are always unique and limited edition; something truly special indeed. Its co-founders Holly Archer Nicholls and Natalie Holt have decades-long careers in the fashion and jewellery industries, and met whilst working for a large company. Forged in a fast-paced environment, this might have honed their skills as designers but they despaired at the waste; both material waste and unexplored ideas. They wanted to make something that was both celebratory of self-adornment and self-expression, whilst having consciousness and craft at its core. As such, Pond became a reality. “It is a precious thing to be able to be both friends and collaborators,” say Archer Nicholls and Holt. “After working together for so long we have an immediacy of communication. It’s easy to make confident decisions and work through ideas really quickly when you have that trust at the centre of a partnership. We have quite different personalities but somehow it’s the perfect balance. We still find inspiration in each other—we challenge each other and when we’re both excited about something, we know we’re onto something special.”
Damson Madder is a fashion brand that has pledged to do things a little differently and to challenge the status quo in the industry. It’s founder, Emma Hill, set out to create a sustainably-conscious label that could also hold up in the style stakes. Well, Hill; that’s a job well done. “We use organic cotton, recycled and re-purposed fabrics in all of our garments,” says Hill. “It should go without saying, everything is ethically sourced, with transparency and sustainability at the heart of everything we do. We believe in zero compromise, because why shouldn’t we? Gone are the days of having to choose between quality design and the impact you make on the environment. We don’t pretend to be perfect, but we do pledge to evolve and grow [as a brand]. To do the best that we can do, right now. With a focus on circular design, innovative fabric and washing techniques, we are committed to making a difference to the fashion industry, so that your style does not cost the earth.”. The clothes? They’re a joy to behold in their own right. Playful colours combine with equally jovial prints, reminding us all that getting dressed should be a fun endeavour. “This season sees bright and bold prints, inspired by 1980s surf culture and coastal holidays, with a focus on simple pleasures for the graphics—think picnics, wild flower bouquets, and mindfulness. [Our goal is] creating products that you will love and that will last a lifetime, transcending trends and fads, with the best materials on the market.”
Just looking at Celia Bernardo’s clothes, which she designs under her namesake brand Celia B, is enough to evoke wanderlust in even the most contented home-body. Her passionate Spanish heritage, artistic nature, and her love of travelling is intertwined within every metallic thread and ruffle that swaths her dresses, adorns her tops, and decorates her skirts. “From stripes seen in Rajasthan to batiks from Indonesia, I find inspiration anywhere and everywhere,” says Bernardo. If it’s fun and adventure you’re after, and you want to look good doing it, Celia your woman. “Celia B is a slow fashion brand—fun, passionate and timeless,” continues Bernardo. “We create amazing designs that make woman shine!”. Founded in 2012, Celia B has a growing following of devoted wearers, all of whom subscribe to the brand’s hyper-feminine and instantly recognisable aesthetic. So, it’s little wonder that women are firmly at the core of all-things Celia B. “We are proud to be a team of hard working, passionate and committed women thriving to bring our creations into reality,” shares Bernardo. “As a team we value diversity and embrace equality, because we want to be part of a world where women’s voices are present and make the difference.”
Laura Pitharas set out to create a new space for sustainable, luxury fashion, where the craft of design combined with the beauty of women could (and should) be celebrated. Her career began when she enrolled to study menswear tailoring at the London College of Fashion; however, her years-long quest to find the perfect womenswear suit inspired her to create her own. “This was one of the many driving forces behind creating her own label,” Pitharas says. The term “capsule wardrobe” is often overused, but it can certainly be applied to the brand’s latest collection. With a honed but impactful palette of beige, black and sky blue, spanning skirts, trousers, tops and tailoring, these pieces are entirely interchangeable with one another and designed to sit in seamlessly with whatever else may be hanging in your wardrobe. Consider it a personal guarantee—a Laura Pitharas item is for life. Proud of her Yorkshire roots, Pitharas sources all her tailoring wool fabrics directly from the famous Leeds mills. Respecting her supply chain, one of the most important factors in setting up her own brand was creating lasting relationships with all her suppliers and manufactures. “Transparency and sustainability are at the forefront of the brand—I’m incredibly proud that all of the garments are made in the UK.”
Fabulous clothes should be for everyone. All too often, however, this isn’t the case. Inclusivity, or the lack there of, is an on-going fight in the fashion space where discrimination is more than an undertone; it’s amplified. However, rising above outdated notions of who does and doesn’t deserve to feel stylish every day are a selection of diversity-championing brands. Mary Benson is one of our favourites. Benson’s whimsical and romantic dresses have been the toast of the Instagram style community, with her diverse size range—her pieces come in sizes 6-30—being one of the many selling points. Another? She creates her own inherently cool prints, making them all the more unique. Another? She offers a bespoke service, which allows her customers to tailor their dresses, right down to specific measurements and details. The future of inclusive fashion? You’re looking at it.
When it comes to style storytelling, a piece of jewellery can be akin to a book, unravelling an insightful tale about the wearer. My biography? I’d very much like to be written by Loveness Lee. Founded in 2016 by Loveness Lee herself, the brand creates jewellery with a focus on forms previously only found in the natural world around us. These sculpture-like designs are made with locally sourced materials, with Lee working hard to protect the medium which inspires her by using recycled and sustainably-conscious materials, including recycled sterling silver and lab grown gemstones. Each collection is crafted in small batches, which makes them all the more covetable. Lee was raised by her architect mother who introduced her to the world of design, and was exposed to a meticulous eye for detail from a young age. Having lived in many different houses growing up, each of them designed and built by her mother and all truly unique, it’s understandable why form plays such a significant role in her own designs. “[I] had an interest in sculpture and fine art and wanted to follow in [my]mother’s footsteps but on a smaller scale, which led [me]to jewellery.”
Long before she was a fashion designer, Fisayo Longe was a content creator with a dream of making and selling her own clothes. “I was moved by my upbringing in Nigeria where I witnessed women being the lifeline and backbone of society, but also constantly short-changed, discriminated against, and limited in terms of their potential and ambition. These women are the inspiration behind Kai Collective. [At Kai Collective, we use] clothing as a conduit to encourage women, especially women like those I grew up with, to reject these limitations and live life on their own terms.” One thing can certainly be said of the London-based Kai Collective and Longe is that they blaze their own trail. Wholly unique, Kai Collective designs are a true celebration of womanhood. Figure-hugging dresses and separates in sheer textiles showcase the body in all its glory. That’s not to say, however, that Kai Collective is solely focused on aesthetics. Longe’s mission is simple: To create attainable clothing with a luxury finish, intentionally crafted for confidence. “We make unique thoughtful pieces that fill the gap for statement high-quality pieces that don’t break the bank. Most importantly, we inspire our community to reject societal gender norms and limitations.”
Handcrafted in limited runs using only the finest Italian leather, C.Nicol’s minimal arm candy has been seen on many a noteworthy arm, and features on every Who What Wear editor’s current wish-list. The brand was founded by former PR exec Cathleen Nicol in 2015 after undertaking a series of courses with London College of Fashion, which unlocked her true passion for design. Instead of setting up shop in the nation’s capital, Nicol lives and works from the Scottish highlands, where she strives to keep her work/life balance healthy and fulfilling. Her handbags, however? Well, they’ve since gone global. Within each C.Nicol bag’s DNA are three key pillars; clean lines, comfort, and function, but layered with this is what inspires the shapes and palette. “Almost every one of our bag styles stands up on its own if placed on a chair or table—they are quite independent,” says Nicol. “I love strong structural shapes and each bag is designed with this type of form in mind.”. The theme of standing your ground and being self-sufficient serves as ongoing inspiration for Nicol’s collections, as she elaborates, “the people that inspire me are those who take their future in their own hands; those that have a dream or want to change something and are willing to work for it. If I ever go through a tough patch in life, meeting or reading about people like that really gives me energy to carry on.”
As a brand, Deidei has set out to make looking good, feeling good, and doing something good for the planet mean the same thing. Founded by Hailea Crichton and Gabrielle Pritchard, Deidei is the duo’s love letter to the multifaceted women they know and love. A brand with empathy and joy, that cares as much about the women making the products as they do about the women wearing them. This, however, is not the only love letter Pritchard and Crichton have written of late. The brand’s latest collection for autumn/winter 2023, has been created to help find the wearer find joy in the most dreaded weather; rain. “It’s meaningful for us both to draw inspiration from the countryside, where we both grew up, as it’s a huge contrast to the city where our studio is. Nature is where our hearts live, and we want to share that,” says Pritchard. “I spent my childhood with my grandma; we had so much fun,” continues Crichton. “If we weren’t sifting through car boot sales and sewing clothes, we’d be eating picnics in the woods or watching old Audrey Hepburn films. She was always my first and biggest supporter. My grandma told me stories about working in the weaving sheds of the textile factories. Tales of men abusing their power and [how]the bad working conditions in the mills affected [her]health. This is what inspired me to find a better way of doing things in the fashion industry. She didn’t have the opportunity to go to fashion school or to start her own label, so she’s always with me when I design.”
If you’ve so much as glanced at Instagram at any point in the last few years, then you’ll have seen pieces by Ukrainian brand Sleeper. The brainchild of Kate Zubarieva and Asya Varetsa, two former editors of leading fashion magazines, the brand launched in 2014, and it didn’t take long for its whimsical pyjamas and nap dresses to start commanding attention. On Christmas eve the year prior, one of the brand’s founders had a dream where she was surrounded by the chicest pyjamas. The following winter, Sleeper presented its first collection. Four weeks later, Editor in Chief of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani, named Sleeper the brand of the month. The rest, they say, is history. Sleeper’s romantic, often feather-adorned designs have been made in Ukraine since its conception. Before the war in Ukraine, all items were hand-crafted by seamstresses in the brand’s atelier in Kyiv. Currently, the production in Kyiv is temporarily on hold, and although the brand hopes to come back to its Kyiv base soon, the atelier has temporarily relocated to Turkey where new collections are made. Despite the circumstances, the brand’s team keeps working from different parts of the world with one goal; to create and spread beauty. “The greatest inspiration for us lies in beauty, which comes in many different forms,” says Zubarieva. “We also love to watch how people wear clothes. Somebody may think that there is nothing exceptional about it, but Asya and I get the greatest inspiration out of it.”
Of all the brands that were born during the pandemic, you mightn’t have expected one of those brands to be Farai London. Of course, the designs speak for themselves; the label’s dresses, tops and skirts are total show-offs in the best possible way. No doubt about it, these are clothes that are meant to be seen. So, it is somewhat ironic that the brand’s meteoric rise began in the midst of a lockdown. Still, if anyone can attest to the transformative powers of dressing in whichever whatever way you want, whenever you want, it’s founder Mary-Ann Msengi. Msengi’s designs struck an immediate cord with a community of women who wanted to embrace their bodies in form-fitting, loud clothing for no one but themselves. I can’t think of a more empowering sentiment. Speaking with out Editor in Chief, Hannah Almassi, on Farai London’s success, Msengi says, “I think Farai has done so well because we interact with our customers so much. They are the ones who got us to where we are, and we completely recognise that. We love to interact with them, hear ideas on what we should release and what they did or did not like in our older collections. When I was in New York [for a presentation with stockist Revolve], I even met a few of the girls and just hung out. Breaking that brand-customer wall is so refreshing.”
