15 June, 2024
Bea has turned her lifelong passion for fashion into Beasha, a clothing line based in Bristol that brings 'the everyday fairytale' to life. Bea’s path into the fashion world has always been fueled by her lifelong love for clothing and design. As a young girl, she was known for her crafty skills and love of art, which naturally led her to discover textiles and sewing.
After completing her studies in Fashion Design and Textiles, Bea began her career as a seamstress for an independent brand specializing in performance and leisure wear. This experience provided her with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to run a brand, and she relished every moment of it. However, when the pandemic hit, Bea found herself furloughed and couldn’t just sit around. She turned to her sewing machine, creating designs for herself, and friends and sharing her work on social media.
What started as a creative outlet during lockdown quickly transformed into a thriving business. Custom requests poured in from friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who discovered her brand online. This was the birth of Beasha, marking the beginning of Bea's journey as an independent designer—a dream that once seemed distant.
Balancing Beasha with a part-time job, Bea’s dedication and hard work eventually allowed her to secure a startup loan, enabling her to fully commit to her brand. From working out of a spare room to moving into her own studio last year, Bea's story is one of passion, perseverance, and the pursuit of a dream. Today, Beasha continues to grow, bringing beautifully crafted pieces that make everyday moments special.
You mentioned that sewing was the first thing you fell in love with. Can you share more about that journey and how it influenced your brand?
Growing up, my dad would always sew up our clothes when they got holes in, even my school tights! This appreciation for clothing, the total opposite of the throwaway culture of fast fashion made me interested in where our clothes came from and how they were made. The making and sewing of garments has always been just as important as the design and I’ve been making clothes for myself my entire life. I feel so lucky I’m now trusted with others to make theirs.
Your pieces are inspired by art, literature, and your passion for creating looks that make people feel heavenly. Can you elaborate on how these influences shape your designs?
The designs I make usually come to me when I’m not actually sitting down trying to design. The description of a sleeve in a book I’m reading, or the way fabric ruffles in one of my favourite childhood films usually takes form in my mind and then the rest of the garment falls into place around it. I lie awake at night going through design after design that I’d like to make and I’m usually running to the studio the next morning to create it. That feeling when you try something on and feel so beautiful, never wanting to take it off is the goal every time I try out a sample for the first time.
Fashion should have depth and make you feel something. What message do you hope to convey through Beasha?
Beasha was born from my love of ‘The everyday fairytale’ and that’s the most important message I want to convey. Not just in terms of aesthetics, but memories of childhood, appreciation for craft and the nostalgia of recognising aspects of the design from old story books and characters. I want people to feel beautiful, confident and unique when wearing Beasha, whatever the occasion.
Your commitment to slow fashion and sustainability is remarkable. What does slow fashion mean to you?
We live on such a beautiful planet and it’s our duty to try and preserve it as much as possible for the generations ahead. I’ve always tried to live my life as sustainably as possible, so when I first began in textiles and Fashion, it was a no-brainer that the would translate in my practice. There is no such thing as a ‘sustainable fashion brand’ but by making lots of small commitments to sustainability, we can enjoy fashion as ethically as possible. Running Beasha as a slow brand especially means that the wonderful customers of Beasha have a real understanding of the time, effort and craft that goes into making each piece and so hopefully will be loved for years to come.
Every piece is lovingly designed, pattern cut, sewn, packaged, and sent by you. What’s the creative process like?
This has actually changed very recently! I’m very grateful to be expanding and now have a seamstress in-house and two down in Devon, who help me make the bestseller pieces allowing me to keep some in stock rather than made to order. It’s been refreshing having a new set of eyes and hands on the brand and it’s meant I have more time to experiment, design and grow the brand.
The process usually starts after a design has developed in my head, I’ll spend days, sometimes weeks, sampling and problem-solving to get the finished piece exactly as I imagine, as well as thinking about the best fabrics, fit for different body types and functionality. After a few fittings, I finalise the patterns and do my pattern grading before shooting the piece. Shoot days are my absolute favourite, it’s such a dream to see the pieces really come to life as the models wear them styled for the first time.
You source most of your fabrics from dead-stock, organic, or vintage materials. How do you go about finding these materials?
Hours and hours of research! I have a few suppliers that have access to designer fabric manufacturers and get ex-designer and deadstock rolls for me to choose from and occasionally if I’m lucky I’ll find some in person at a vintage fair or independent fabric shop. Using deadstock certainly has its challenges - I often have to take a huge risk and buy an entire roll before sampling or wash testing as I don’t know how long it will be around before someone else snaps it up!
Another challenge is that pouring so much labour and time into developing a new design, sampling, shooting and pattern cutting it just for that fabric to run out and never to be replicated is very infuriating. It can feel like a lot of stopping and starting but does make the pieces that much more special.
On your website, you have a page dedicated to educating your buyers about sustainability, which I may add is rare when it comes to most brands. Why is transparency important to you?
For me, it’s the whole ‘teach a man to fish’. By giving my customers information about sustainability, they can apply it to other brands they shop with or by looking at their fashion as a whole. Greenwashing in the fashion industry is regressing the sustainability movement that was just starting to make a positive effect and so I aim to do the opposite by being completely transparent.
The Freya top is a favourite among many. What do you think makes it special?
I think the Freya is so popular as it’s the perfect balance of something special but wearable. The slightly dropped waist and shirring are flattering on every body type and the ruffles and ribbons are romantic and girly. I’ve had a lot of customers telling me they feel so confident and supported which is exactly what I aim for!
In addition to clothing, you also make bags. What inspired you to start creating bags?
As with many things I release, I initially made this design for myself. I’ve never been a fan of rucksacks on me, but I needed an everyday bag to carry all my bits and bobs that was special enough to take to festivals and so the Milo was born! I’m so happy everyone loves it as much as me as I’ve got so many ideas for more bags in the future.
I noticed you also made a custom bridal piece, which is absolutely beautiful. What was that experience like?
Every time I receive a bridal order, I feel so honoured that someone trusts Beasha with such an important piece and I love chatting with the bride to alter designs to suit their vision together. It’s very nerve-wracking sending it off (especially the ones going to Australia!) so it feels so amazing to be sent pictures of the day and be told how much they loved wearing it.
You give the option for made-to-measure where a piece can be customised for a specific customer, which I think is amazing. How do you ensure that every customer gets their perfect fit and feels a personal connection to their Beasha piece?