Countess of Lucan, Anne-Sophie Lucan of Lucan Fashion

www.houseoflucan.com

Q What made you create the brand Lucan?
A I launched the line because I was frustrated by the boxy and boring nature of most tweeds, country wear and shooting kit on the market. I wanted to bring colour, vitality, shapeliness and ergonomics such as working side vents and action back, with bellows pockets, useful for modern men and women who, like me, have a busy lifestyle in both city and country. I wanted to be able to go straight from the moor into Annabel’s.

Q How would you best describe the brand?
A A truly British luxury brand – almost all the fabric and all production is here in the UK. We’ve avoided purely traditionalist associations whilst retaining heritage around the name in a playful and contemporary way, symbolised in the branding. The keywords of the collection are bold, spirited, genuine and vivacious and are representative of a life spent to the full! We don’t wish to be seen as wild, aiming to be a little punchier than what is otherwise on offer.

Q What achievement are you most proud of so far?
A Lucan has revived the iconic Norfolk Jacket for both urban and country wear and this year we also launched a ladies’ Norfolk – something that had us entered into the London College of Fashion’s Curriculum on British Luxury Brands!

Q Who are some of your more well-known fans?
A Tom Chamberlin, Editor of Rake Magazine, who wrote: “If we were to look back on a successful revival of it [The Norfolk Jacket] in however many years’ time, searching for a particular point of origin, this would certainly be it.” Sir Ian McKellan, the iconic British actor, who was: “very impressed with the workmanship and style” of our Men’s Gilet; plus Lady Alice Manners: “Bold and beautiful Brights, perfect for any country pursuit!” Finally, Lucia Van der Post, of FT’s How to Spend It said we: “Provide some of the most glamorous country clothing of all.”

Q What are your plans for the future?
A I’m adding cashmere and beautiful corduroy to the tweed and wool base and I aim eventually for a full lifestyle brand with a mix of urban and country styles whilst featuring our core pillars of shapeliness, colour, truthful ergonomics and flexibility in use.

Rosie van Custem and Lucia Ruck Keene of TROY London

www.troylondon.com

Q What made you create the brand TROY London?
Rosie: We saw a lack of practical and stylish outerwear solutions for women, and feel there is real demand in the market for clothing that is adaptable to the modern woman’s busy lifestyle. Our designs are all versatile to city and country living. We try to bring practical features such as waterproofing and cosy warm quilting, and lift them with luxury fabrics and contemporary details.”
Lucia: “There is a playfulness to our designs also, references to British heritage and country pursuits that add to the originality of our collection. We really set this up because we were fed up trying to find designs that were desirable and also suited our needs.

How would you best describe the brand?
Rosie: TROY is a stylish outerwear brand, offering chic coats and wardrobe staples for women who like to escape into the outdoors. All of our designs are made here in Britain.

What achievement are you most proud of so far?
Lucia: It is hard to identify a single moment. I still get a kick out of every repeat order we receive. It means so much that people come back time and time again. When that happens you think, well we must be doing something right.
Rosie: We have loved building our brand internationally, and get a real kick to see sales to all corners of the world. We also enjoy working with other British designers on collaborations, most recently Amanda Wakeley OBE and latterly with the eminently stylish Alex Eagle.

Who are some of your more well-known fans?
Lucia: We have been delighted to see some inspiring women choose to wear our designs, from the Duchess of Cambridge to the country loving Jacquetta Wheeler and Poppy Delevingne.

What are your plans for the future?
Rosie: We are currently busy preparing our summer collection of cotton ruffle shirts, easy-wear pin cord dresses and canvas dungarees. We are adding to our stockists with carefully selected partners around the UK and internationally. The year ahead is certainly filled with excitement, working to our ambition of building the brand to a household name renowned for quality, stylish designs with a distinctly British flavour.

Sisters and co-founders, Alice and Rosie of Hicks & Brown

www.hicksandbrown.com

Q What made you create the brand?
A We started Hicks & Brown in 2014 because, put simply, we both absolutely love hats! We have so many in our wardrobes and wanted to create a brand of our own where we could design hats we would want to wear. Our mother, a renowned dressmaker and designer, was a true inspiration and support to us throughout our childhood and instilled in us a life-long love of design and textiles.

Having both embarked on careers in London, we both maintained a connection with the country way of life, particularly within the equestrian and country sporting worlds. We started to make clothes to wear ourselves and were always overwhelmed with lovely comments from our family and friends who admired our creations. It was from this we decided that it was time to leave the corporate way of life and move back to our country roots, from which the business was born!

Q How would you best describe the brand?
A First and foremost, Hicks & Brown is a British brand, with its roots firmly in the countryside where the main influences for the designs and products are from. Having spent many years in the city, the brand embodies influences from the town, as well as country, to inject a contemporary take on the classic country look. These two main influences are reflected in all our designs, making them easily worn from a town to country lifestyle.

Q What achievement are you most proud of so far?
A This would have to be making the decision to take the leap from working under the safety net of bigger organisations within the careers we had both pursued in London. For not giving up through the tough times and having the courage and belief in ourselves that all our hard work will one day pay off. It’s such an amazing feeling to have grown the business from an idea discussed around the kitchen table to where we are today. We are fiercely British with the design of our products, and as well as being able to shop the collections via our website, Hicks & Brown is now a multi-channel shopping destination stocked in over 80 retailers across the UK, which continues to grow, and we are excited to see where the next few years takes us!

Q Who are some of your more well-known fans?
A Over the years some of our more well-known customers have included a mix of people, from Bake Off’s Mary Berry, the cast of Made in Chelsea to The Countess of Wessex! Whether they be a notable name, a regular wearer or a new customer, we always love seeing how our hats are styled and worn.

Q What are your plans for the future?
A To continue to grow the Hicks & Brown brand by introducing new products, which will play a key part in this growth, and launching further styles to develop our men’s range. The goal is always to try and reach new markets and people who haven’t heard from us before!

Lady Melissa Percy of Mistamina

www.mistamina.com

Q What made you create the brand?
A I started Mistamina in 2017 because I wanted clothes to wear in the countryside that had a cool, tomboy edge to them. My friends and I often found that we couldn’t find anything in the style we liked, but that also kept us warm and was practical for walking the dogs or spending time outside with the family. Everything that was practical and aimed at women was either fuchsia or purple, I wanted something that was more stylish, so I decided to create Mistamina and start designing clothes I wanted to wear myself!

Q How would you best describe the brand?
A Mistamina is a practical clothing brand designed for action girls who love the great outdoors. Each piece is chic, yet pragmatic, and offers a new depth of dressing for adventurers, developed with wearability in mind with an edgy twist. The current collection comprises seven different colourways of crew knit jumpers, with contrast shoulder and elbow patch detailing.

Q What achievement are you most proud of so far?
A On a professional level, I’m really proud of successfully starting my own business, it has been so rewarding to launch Mistamina in the UK, we have enjoyed two brilliant years of business here and it has inspired me to launch in the USA. I love seeing people wearing their jumpers out in the field or whilst out walking: it’s so great to see people loving wearing their Mistamina clothes.

On a personal note, one of my proudest moments was getting to play on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit. At my peak, I was ranked first in doubles and second in singles in Under 18 England Women’s Tennis. Although I no longer play professionally, I still love playing tennis socially.

Q Who are some of your more well-known fans?
A We have seen loads of great people wearing Mistamina, from expert shooter Rachel Carrie to Telegraph columnist Lady Alice Manners. I love it when my best friends Emma Louise Connolly, Maddie Chesterton and Bubble Perry wear their jumpers – as it’s always rewarding to see people you admire wearing your clothes, it’s testament to the product!

Q What are your plans for the future?
A This spring I am launching Mistamina in the USA, so I’m currently putting all my time into that project which is really exciting. I would love to design a wider collection of clothing to create the full look! It’s definitely something I have planned for the future.