Susie started her bespoke womenswear and bridal business 4 years ago, with a focus on quality her bridal service has been featured in The Stylist, Time Out and Brides Magazine. Susie is also hugely passionate about creating sustainable fashion.
Outline your business and entrepreneurial skills, including your relative achievements to date in running a business *
I opened my atelier on Bermondsey St in June 2010 and over the past 4 years I have developed a successful bespoke womenswear and bridal brand. From working alone I have built a talented team who are passionate about quality, design and British manufacture. Over the past 2 years our bridal service has become the fastest growing sector of my business and led to features in The Stylist, Time Out, Brides magazine and a number of high profile bridal blogs. I am a vocal supporter of sustainable fashion and design, speaking on these topics regularly on BBC London radio. I have also given talks on the benefits of bespoke British design at the Fashion & Textile Museum, UEL and The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. This year I have participated in events on the future of the British fashion industry and ethical manufacture organised by Goldsmiths University, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and most recently an APPG hosted by Fashion Revolution at the House of Lords. I also host events at my atelier where we invite designers and icons in the creative industry to speak about their career; speakers have included designers Roland Klein and Helen Storey as well as iconic fashion journalist and feminist Felicity Green.
Why do you have the ability to be an inspiring role model? Provide examples to illustrate
I set up my business alone, from scratch, with money I saved working after graduating from University and despite starting my business at the beginning of a recession I have managed to make it a success. A huge part of what I do is creating sustainable fashion, all made here in London and I am passionate about ethical retail and manufacture. The client is at the heart of my brand – I want every woman to feel fantastic in the bespoke clothes we make and inspire women to feel confident, chic and happy. The most dominant businesses in fashion do not do enough to combat an increasing negativity in women’s attitude to self image and, in addition, although fast fashion may be profitable it cannot be ethically or ecologically sustained. My business has deliberately tried to challenge these conventions to carve out a new way of creating clothes which is empowering and of the highest quality. My passion for these issues is reflected in everything I do, and through the use of social networking platforms I strive to encourage & engage others in an alternative approach to fashion. This is further demonstrated through the Journal section of my website where I regularly write posts on how to make a positive change in what you wear – I want to show people an alternative way of making, buying and wearing clothes that they can feel good about from start to finish.
What is your business / idea and what would you use the £5,000 towards if you were to win *
I would love to develop the bridal side of our brand further and update our atelier to reflect this. Having a cash injection would enable us to create a range of more affordable bespoke bridal gowns which could provide a made to measure service without the couture price tag. This is an idea we have been nurturing for a while and receiving any prize money would allow us to do this in time for next season and expand our reach in the bridal market, all the while supporting UK fabric suppliers and clothes manufacture in London. Running a small business has instilled in me an acute understanding that a small amount of money can go a very long way and every penny counts. If our brand were to receive £5k we would also be able to organise a photoshoot and a video to send to press as we have found that imagery and visualise engagement lead to the most interaction on social media and coverage in the press. This money would also enable us to showcase our designs and new collection at a high end bridal fair, which is another great way to generate more business and press around the unique service we provide in the British fashion and bridal market.
