The Insta-Famous Label That’s Making Sustainable Fashion Look Better Than Ever

House Of Sunny is a sustainable fashion brand founded by Sunny Williams. If you're looking for trend-setting pieces with a bohemian flare, House Of Sunny is for you. But it's one thing to be a founder of a brand, and it's another to nurture it to grow. That's where Sunny's fiancé Camilla Ley comes in, as the brands' Managing Director. And over the past few years, the brand has amassed an impressive following, largely thanks to Instagram.

The Hackney based sustainable fashion brand is anything but conventional, as like most indie start-ups, back in 2011 ‘building a brand without any funds, audience and platforms was so hard’ said Sunny. But it wasn't until Sunny met Camilla at the House Of Sunny launch party that things started to blossom, personally and professionally. Camilla said, ‘My brother's band were performing that night, so he brought me along as it was a 'fashion' party, he thought it would be a good idea for me to socialise.’ Camilla was a Social and Marketing Exec for a luxury handbag brand before she joined House Of Sunny, as Sunny recalls, ‘Camilla showed such passion and was highlighting learnings from her previous jobs, she had a vision and wanted to do more. We talked and decided to give it ago and build this brand together.’

Since then House Of Sunny has drawn on digital culture; tapping into social media, ‘chatting with the homies’ and working with the ‘it’ girls of influencers, like @stephaniebroek and model @jilla.tequila. Likewise, celebrities, such as Bella Hadid, are just as excited about the brand and their progression, having recently released their first handbag, the Icon shoulder bag.

Their online presence became increasingly important as their customers ‘are the inspiration,’ Camilla said. ‘The inspirational vision and girls expand every season,’ said Sunny, ‘we have no limitations which allows the design team to be super creative,’ added Camilla. In a time where all we seem to hear of are the negative impacts of social media, we forget that some platforms like Instagram have been monumental to brand development and individuals. Cara Delevingne recently spoke to Harper's Bazaar about life in the digital age and said, ‘I wouldn’t be big without Instagram.’ Likewise, Sunny said, ‘it’s [social media] really helped us, we feel we owe it a lot.’

Continuing to converse with House Of Sunny ‘homies’ over social media, it was only time for the brand to start engaging in the physical world, with the launch of their recent pop-up, located in the heart of London. Their AW19 collection featured in the store brought in customers from far and wide, as Camilla recalls three girls from Madrid who visited the store. She added, ‘customers keep telling us they are drawn into the store because of the pastel colours, it's something so different for a winter collection.’ Baby pinks, pistachio greens and chocolate browns, a near Neapolitan ice cream colour palette, Sunny said, ‘It's what our girls dig, we felt it. Further, it's just colours and themes that we are inspired by.’ The chocolate Penny coat is one of Sunny’s favourites, inspired by 1970’s Harlem pimps, while Camilla’s favourite piece is the Blanca skirt, ‘it's unique and its so flattering’ she said.

Every piece from the AW19 collection ‘has been made from a recycled fabric or some form of improvement in its build,’ Sunny said. Camilla added ‘it's our most sustainable collection yet, we're on this journey and making big improvements each season.’ As the brand champions sustainability, the store does too, carrying a selection of other sustainable, indie brands, such as sunglasses brand Neon Hope, skincare brand Wild Source and Scandi brand Phine jewellery.

Sunny and Camilla are at the store most days, ‘It's our first physical central London space so it’s important to us. Plus we both love meeting the homies,’ Camilla said. Spending nearly all of their time together on a professional and personal basis, do they ever butt heads? It would seem so, but then what couple doesn't? Sunny said, ‘we are learning to deal with our emotions and drive professionally’, while Camilla added they do disagree ‘but only because we both care. We were both so passionate about making the right decision for the brand and it's so rewarding celebrating results together.’

SHOP: House Of Sunny - The Best Of SS20

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