When Covid hit and the high street began to crumble as footfall fell away, most of the fashion industry panicked - but Rosie Bowden and Zoe de Abreu saw an opportunity.The now 36-year-olds had met at work, then spent time on opposite sides of the industry: Bowden led the sales team of a fashion manufacturer supplying the British high street, while de Abreu had worked there too before becoming a buyer at Arcadia. “We’d always talked about building something of our own, but the timing had never quite felt right. Then Covid came, major names were shutting their doors, and there was a clear gap in the market for modern, feminine, timeless womenswear at an accessible price point.”
The duo and Rachel Heather, owner of the manufacturing firm where they’d first met, decided to launch their own fashion brand. “Rachel had owned the manufacturing business for over 30 years, so we were fortunate to have long-standing, trusted relationships with fabric mills and factories across the globe. She became our CEO, and set up a WhatsApp group called ‘Taking Over the World’, which we still use today.”
