Last year the UK fashion industry was valued at a casual £26 billion. Haute-couture, ready-to-wear, high street fashion – they get you big bucks if you make it and manage to cling on to your power. You hear of the odd new designer every now and again, but mostly it’s a landscape entirely filled with decades, even centuries old brands that make it a really, really difficult industry to break into, let alone be successful in.
And if you were to start your own label, where the hell would you begin. Don’t you have to have a first from Central St Martin’s and a fairy godmother who works for the British Fashion Council to even have a tiny chance of making it?
If super cool young designer Amber Wyles is anything to go by, then apparently not. A year ago Amber’s label Maimiewas little more than a good idea and a few pieces of fabric, and now it counts Cressida Bonas as one of its biggest fans. Her London-made luxury silk women’s wear even comes in a limited edition Liberty print. Nailed it.
Amber set Maimie up without a Central St Martin’s degree, no experience of working as a fashion designer, and little more than an instinct of whether her products would sell or not. Time to find out how the hell she did it.
The Debrief: What made you want to start your own label?
Amber Wyles: Working from home and being something of a comfort hunter I was forever wearing leggings and trackies and although I felt comfy, I never felt feminine and invariably got caught out looking like a tramp every time the doorbell went.
I couldn’t find any clothing that ticked the comfort box and the feminine box, so I thought I’d create something myself! Essentially, Maimie is founded on me wanting to bring comfort and confidence to women, in equal measure.
DB: Do you ever get totally freaked out and think fuck, what the hell am I doing?
**AW: **Yes! Every Monday morning and every hangover.
DB: Do you really have to have a degree in fashion to make you qualified to design clothes?
AW: I don’t think you need a degree to create something women need. If you know what it is that you want to achieve, you just need to do the tease arch and take the time to find the right people. I’m very lucky to have silk specialist seamstresses and a team of brilliant pattern cutters to turn my designs into products.
DB: What experience have you had that has helped you manage your own business?
**AW: **I’ve done some production co-ordination in the past, which has been brilliant with helping with my own production, management, forward planning, and just generally with keeping projects moving forward.
I was also working freelance before, so I had a little experience with time management, self-motivation and managing my own finances. Although no amount of experience will ever make the tax return any more fun!
DB: Best advice you’ve been given?
**AW: **If it doesn’t scare you, it’s not worth doing.
DB: How do you use social media to promote yourself, without feeling like a twat?
**AW: **I try to think of Maimie as having her own personality, who’s sharing her work with the world on social media, rather than a projection of myself. She’s allowed to say #ootd – which is something I’d never normally do in real life!
DB: What advice would you give to someone wanting to set up their own label?
**AW: **If you’re passionate, just be patient and persevere and believe in yourself. Your idea and all the rest will work itself out.
DB: Do you think there’s a growing trend of people not following traditional routes and just giving these things a go?
**AW: **I think so. Especially with brilliant platforms such as Shopify making DIY websites easier. And, of course, the power of social media helps massively.
DB: How do you think newcomers and industry outsiders like you could change the industry?
AW: I think it’s going to bring more freedom to fashion. And more consumer-led design, which focuses on wearable clothing that’s created to answer real needs.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.