We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Radforth. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.
Emily , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
While I was studying fashion at university, my original goal was to stay in London and try to find a design job after graduating. Over time, particularly in my final year and completing my graduate collection, I realised how much I loved having the freedom to create whatever I wanted and essentially bringing to life a more elaborate and elevated version of my own wardrobe, as opposed to having to work to someone else’s brief.
During my time interning in the industry the year before, it really opened my eyes to the amount of exploitation and waste that goes on behind closed doors. The huge amount of fabric, trims and samples that were forgotten about or discarded really kick-started my interest into sustainability and made me start thinking a lot more about the environmental impacts of the industry I wanted to go into.
After graduating and moving back to my hometown of Liverpool, I was pretty unsure what my next move was but I set myself a goal to start using up my leftover fabrics from uni as soon as I could to keep the creative juices flowing while I was now back at home and working part time in a fabric shop. I initially started making and selling corsets on Depop as it was the perfect way to use up small scraps and was something that I had explored in my graduate collection.
A little while later I decided to launch a mini collection only using deadstock or second-hand fabrics on a made-to-order basis in order to be as sustainable as possible. When that started to pick up, I realised how much I loved having the creative freedom of running a small business and also saving incredible fabrics from ending up in landfill. It’s definitely been an emotional rollercoaster but 3 years later I’m still going and hoping to continue for many more.
Emily , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I best describe my slow fashion brand as ‘Renaissance Meets Rock n Roll.’ I’ve always had lots of different interests when it comes to my inspirations and I like to embrace all aspects of that. I constantly look back on some of my favourite musicians from the 1970s such as The Rolling Stones and The Cramps and combine them with the more regal and delicate aspects such as corsets, damask fabrics and gothic features. I’m hugely inspired by musicians and have had the honour of The Last Dinner Party, Rianne Downey, Arrow De Wilde from Starcrawler wear some of my pieces over the years, which is definitely up there with some of my favourite achievements.
While running my brand I’ve been so lucky to meet and work with so many incredibly supportive and talented people who have helped me along the way. Last year I put on my first ever launch party for my new collection and had some of my incredible musician friends perform while debuting the new pieces. Seeing everyone come together to celebrate and collaborate on something that means so much to me was such an incredible feeling and it is definitely one of my highlights so far.
Since then, various friends who met that night have also gone on to work together on other creative projects which is so amazing to see. Being a one=woman brand can sometimes be quite isolating and so being able to meet like minded, creative people is one of the best things about running my own business. Having that sense of community and support really makes all the difference when things are feeling tough.
As well as running my brand, I was recently commissioned to work on a collection of accessories for Yungblud’s latest shop opening for his B.R.A.T clothing line. Being involved in such an amazing project was a huge honour and being there for the shop launch in Soho, London was an incredible experience.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think running a small business requires a lot of resilience in all areas. There’s a lot of trial and error that goes into it and having to keep yourself motivated and persevere when there’s a slow period or you’re feeling burnt out can be challenging sometimes.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
To keep it short and sweet, a little while ago I saw a clip of Dolly Parton being interviewed. When asked how she managed to become so successful she said, ‘I never tried quitting and I never quit trying.’ It really stuck with me and I often think of it when I’m feeling overwhelmed or disheartened about something. Running a business from scratch by yourself is definitely not easy but it’s all about perseverance and hard work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emilyradforth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyradforth_/
Image Credits
All personal images other than the 2 live images of the musicians. They were taken by @liadragoiu.media