Metro and the BBI are teaming up to highlight the UK’s most talented Black businesspeople.

Isabelle Pennington-Edmead, 28, runs her own ethical slow-fashion business with
a collection also stocked online at ASOS.

Orders from her website are made on demand to prevent wastage and aim to reflect childhood memories and femininity as well as inspiration drawn from her mixed Caribbean and British heritage.

Here, she explains how she’s made her journey from textiles-obsessed teen to successful entrepreneur, with the help of mentors and a lot of learning along the way.

What got you into the clothes design business?

It is quite a cliché, but clothes design and running my own business has always been something I wanted to do.

I’ve got sketchbooks from when I was younger where I designed what I wanted my brand to be, with logo designs and stuff. But I don’t come from a family of entrepreneurs. Everyone in my family works in the public sector, like teachers, doctors or the NHS.

That makes it hard. When you go to state school, you don’t have the connections you might at other places, or the advice. So when I’m struggling with something, I might go to a family member and say, ‘I don’t know what to do about this’, but they don’t understand.

How did you get started?

I did textiles at school and then studied fashion design at university, and then did a master’s in textiles for fashion.

After my master’s, I applied for a grad scheme with Yoox Net-A-Porter – a cooperation with the King’s Foundation educational charity. I was working on creating a sustainable collection for their private label.

I’m from Manchester, and when I finished at Yoox, I decided I wanted to move back to the north-west, but a lot of the clothes industry there was fast fashion.

So I decided to just start my own brand, because I’d learned quite a lot about small-batch production. That’s when I thought I could give it a go, starting my own slow-fashion label that reflects my mixed Caribbean, Kittitian, and British heritage.

How’s the journey going?

I’d say the challenge has been scaling. I’ve had to deal with things like Brexit. I didn’t know about importing and exporting. That was a big hurdle – navigating the production and pricing and logistics, and having to negotiate with factories.

I think it can be quite difficult, especially as a young woman, to make sure that you’re getting the right prices and being taken seriously.

You now have a collection for sale at ASOS. Did that feel like a milestone?

ASOS was a big, brilliant experience. It started in March 24 and there was a lot to learn with scaling up to that size. Everything that’s available 
to buy on ASOS from my brand is made in factories in the UK. I’m using a factory in London that’s Drapers Award-winning, so I know it’s a sustainable factory.

I’ve also got orders being stocked in small boutiques, I’ve got an order going to Bermuda at the moment, and I’ve got other collections to pitch to other sources, hopefully.

My next goal is to make the
business even more sustainable. I don’t think any fashion business can be 100 per cent sustainable, so it’s just about trying your best and putting the effort in.

A big goal for me would be to become a B Corp, which shows my business is meeting high standards.

How did you get involved with the Black British Initiative (BBI) and how has it helped you?

I met BBI CEO Darren Miller at a Windrush anniversary event. I got chatting to him and told him about my business, and he told me about the initiative.

I really liked the look of what they were doing, because coming from a creative background I don’t have any formal education in business. So even though I wanted to have a business, sometimes I felt an imposter syndrome around it, with not actually having formal education in it.

Darren has put me in touch with some great people, such as Andrew Xeni from resposible fashion brand Nobody’s Child. Having mentors has been a game-changer for me, so these connections have been so important.

What have you learned that you’d like to pass on to others if they’d also like to make a business a success?

I’d say, define your brand and do the market research. That’s very important – writing out a business plan and covering every aspect. Customers like it when there’s a story behind the product, and they can really be involved in that.

Also, try to stand your ground when you are negotiating. I sometimes deal with people on email a bit before first, just so they don’t make assumptions when speaking on the phone – if they hear my age or that I’m a young woman.

Just don’t take the first answer. I think it’s a given that they’re going to expect you to go back with different prices or suggestions. So, if you just take the first offer, obviously
they’ll go with it, but I don’t think they mind you suggesting cheaper pricing or negotiating.

And when you have bad days, you just have to ride it. You’re going to have them. And even though you can see on LinkedIn people’s highlight reels, it’s not like that every day for them either.

When things are going well, make the most of it. I try and post a lot on social media. I try and hype up
the brand.

I don’t have a massive marketing budget, so a lot of it is done myself. I try not to get complacent and take my foot off the accelerator.

Business breakfast or business lunch – which appeals?

Lunch. I’m not mad on buying breakfast out – I just think I could have made this myself, and now it’s cost me £12 or something.

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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

‘There are systemic structural and institutional barriers.’

‘There are systemic structural and institutional barriers.’