A glimpse at the Instagram profile of British-born designer Conna Walker hints at an influential figure: she has over 2.5M followers on the H of CB social media and her grid is an enviable procession of celebrity appearances. But Conna is more than her social media: the 27-year-old founder of Mistress Rocks and House of CB has earned an impressive roster of fans, just to name a few - Beyoncé, the Kardashians, Hailey Bieber, J-lo, Rihanna, Meghan Trainor, Ashley Graham, Maya Jama, Karrueche, Lady Gaga, Jesy Nelson… I mean the list could go on.
Starting her company in 2010, at the age of just 17, Conna was lucky enough to receive a £3,880 loan from her father. The figure – hugging women’s clothes are now sold in over 40 retail locations worldwide including numerous stores in the UK, USA and Australia.
Just last year she appeared on Forbes 30 under 30, where she mentioned that she creative directs and business manages the whole company – I mean, what can’t she do?
Conna also discusses her parents and their entrepreneurial nature which contributed to why she is the way she is. With both of her parents working on Dalston market five-year-old Conna would ‘sell on the toy section’, although she confesses ‘sell’ is a loose term. It does however show she’s always had an eye for business.
Staying in school until 18 and studying English, art and economics, Conna always knew she wanted to do something more, and recognised from an early age that a 9-5 or university was not for her. Finishing school and one year into her business she decided to work on it full time, deciding that you don’t have to do the norm to be successful.
The House of CB founder has always been a person and brand that champions other women. That’s why this year, she marked International Women's Day by launching a competition to give back for a second year.
Three women with start-up companies will receive up to a £17,000 cash injections between them. Hoping to help more women become CEOs and industry leaders, Conna personally selects all three winners. With over 4k applications last year that doesn’t sound like the easiest of tasks... but neither does running a multi – million fashion company.
READ MORE: BAFTA Connects Stars Of The Future With Britain's Success Stories