Written by Tanya De

As the new year begins, an influx of fashion magazines and influencers are predicting the top trends that will now dictate the year. How fashion is consumed now differs greatly from a decade ago. With being chronically online, what we consume, buy and where from is very much dictated by a fine-tuned algorithm created for us on our socials. “You can tell someone’s screen time from their outfit,” says writer and fashion commentator Alexandra Hildreth to Vogue Business.

The ease of consumption and the vapid turnaround of micro-trends have changed how people now add to their collections. With fast-fashion giants churning in styles and products to cater to the vastly changing fashion- trends, whether it is all things suede or bows there is something catering to every aesthetic. It is getting harder and harder for newer brands to compete. 

Haste speaks to young female-led brands on how new designers navigate the ever-demanding industry and how keeping up with every new trend affects their small businesses.

Iona Lily the name-sake brand is a slow-fashion brand, inspired by Iona’s personality and the earth. She says, “I grew up in the countryside but I’m also a city girl at heart, I think both sides of myself come through in my brand.” Iona’s interest in arts and spirituality is represented in her work.

Sio Studio by Chelsea retails vintage and original designs inspired by pop culture from the late 90s and early 2000s from her North-London Studio started in 2019. Sio aims to create and curate timeless classics and elevated staples with sustainability at its core.

  • How did you start your brands? 

Iona:  The brand has always been influenced by the natural world. The most recent collections have been inspired by the chaos that is life. When my dad passed I didn’t think I could create again. For months on end I didn’t think I could create a world without him, he was & is my biggest inspiration. I remember going home to my family house in the summer of 2022 and researching spiritual symbols. I felt very lost & very lonely with my grief. I wanted to read about the meaning of different symbols & flowers which is when I came across the spiral that represents regrowth, the Lily flower that means rebirth, Horseshoes for luck and Bows that tie everything back together. 

You’ll know that if you’ve lost someone who’s bought you into this world you’ll soon realise that the old you went with them and you have to navigate a whole new life. I knew for me that my brand and making art was going to help me do this. The rhinestones bring a nostalgic element to the clothes. I had a t-shirt that had dotted rhinestones on when I was young and I wanted to bring a special time in my life into this collection. I sort of wanted to bring a collection of memories and feelings to life. 

Chelsea: I started Sio when I had just graduated from university and was working as a waitress to pay off my overdraft. I used £400 which was like a month’s wage ( crazy I know ) to buy my first few pairs of Levi’s jeans which I upcycled into corsets. In the beginning, Sio lived exclusively on Depop – I was too shy to tell my family and friends wanted to start a clothing brand so I just uploaded the pieces onto Depop anonymously for the first few months and kept reinvesting the money into more material. Eventually, my drops started selling out faster and when I got to a point when 10 corsets sold out almost instantly, I decided to make it official and create an Instagram and brand strategy.

  • Your products are handmade to order, how long does one item take you from start to finish?

Iona: All of my pieces are handmade from start to finish by myself. As they are handmade to order the time can vary… I have to buy the material which I like to keep deadstock (as it’s more sustainable) from lots of different places, sometimes they don’t have it in stock and I have to travel around all day going to different warehouses that will have this fabric. Once I have the rhinestones and fabric in front of me it will take me about an hour or two to cut & sew each order… again depending on what the order is! A lot longer if their order contains a few products. 

Chelsea: It depends on the item/design. Some items for example: handmade faux fur bags can take a full day from cutting out the pattern to the finished product, and even something that appears simple like the wrap-over tank can take 3 hours. Sometimes people feedback that independent fashion brands are expensive not realising that it is not only priced according to materials but the labour that goes into it.

  • Is it hard for a slow fashion brand to keep up with the quick and fickle turnaround in the trend cycle?

Iona: I think for trends I like to create my own. I guess a lot of brands do but for the designers who have only just started or handmake each piece like myself, it can be very daunting and overwhelming trying to keep up with the turnaround. 

Chelsea: I try not to let trend cycles influence my work because I feel that’s the easiest way to lose your brand’s identity. I’ve always loved and admired brands that have a solid identity and serve as a constant go-to for a certain style or item. I also feel like most people just like what they like and if you have a really good design that’s made well and fits nicely people are going to buy it regardless of whether it’s on trend or not.

  • Do you think as a brand owner there is pressure to keep up with the trends and cater to the trends? 

Iona: I don’t try to keep up with trends. I think I have always made the little trends that suit me and collected pieces that represent me as a person. I know in my work I can see myself in every piece. I like to design feminine pieces yet worn for comfort. Being a party girl but the other half of me wants to be cosy. Having a core collection like my Lucky Charm pants grows the community and gives the brand structure, I’m happy I have a core collection like the Healing pants that are icons of the brand. 

Chelsea: Sometimes. You can feel pressured to meet the demand of what people want to wear at the time to keep your brand relevant and build your customer base. However, I always ask myself if this is something I would still buy and wear in 3-4 years. If the answer is no then it doesn’t get released.


  • What is the biggest challenge of having a slow fashion line?

Iona: As I hand make everything, it is a struggle to want to keep up with the pace of the industry, and bring new ideas to life but also have to juggle socials, content, pattern making, testing, making and on top of all of this I am also making everyone’s orders and also dealing with my personal life. The pressure is real! It takes me a long time to create new collections because of this I guess but I like to take my time on my art. 

Chelsea: Feeling like you constantly have to churn out new designs to keep people interested. Fast fashion has normalised new designs dropping every week when realistically that isn’t sustainable. The same goes for content – at the moment I run everything myself so I still struggle to balance my time between creating social media content & order fulfilment. Both are equally important and one drives the other so that is my main focus to change over the next year.

Fashion and personal style go beyond what influencers and editors curate for you, while helpful it is important as consumers to be mindful of buying sustainably and supporting businesses that speak to them beyond aesthetics.