STRIKING THE BALANCE WITH PEACHY DEN’S ISABELLA WEATHERBY

The brand creates clothing with a strong emphasis on striking the balance; garments are both comfortable and form fitting; relaxed and elevated; familiar and equally unique and distinctive. This finely-tuned approach of striking balances manifests in the perfect modular wardrobe, catering to the lifestyles of contemporary women by enabling them to transition seamlessly between settings. In light of that, END. visited Peachy Den’s London-based studio to sit down with its founder Isabella Weatherby, delving into its origins, community and striking the balance with designs.

First of all, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how Peachy Den started out?

I studied Politics and International Relations at Uni, so nothing to do with fashion at all. Then, post-university, I jumped into a number of roles and followed my degree, which ultimately didn’t make me very happy. Peachy began as a side hustle; I was working full time and shipping parcels in my lunch break. The initial idea was super simple: to create clothing my friends and I wanted to wear. I have always been inspired by items that I feel are missing from my own wardrobe, so it all began with one pair of trousers which were these velvet flairs that I sold in five different colours. I sourced a seamstress in my local town in Leicestershire, and we made up our first 50 pairs on our Squarespace site which I built using a template. I also got my friend to do the branding and we shot on a group of friends in London, so it was a very low-key beginning. Once it had begun to build traction, I quit my job — much against my dad who would say “never quit your job unless you have another one lined up” — and I moved back home to Leicestershire. From here, I focused on it for a year handling all aspects of the brand — so design, marketing, the whole shebang.

Instrumental to the success of Peachy Den has been its viral products and strong brand identifiers, like the Kernel jumpsuit, for instance, or the Mimi cargo pants. What is your approach in creating trend-defining product that cuts through on this level?

I think it’s quite difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly that creates these products, it’s definitely a gut intuition and an overwhelming sense of when I think something is going to really fly. Like the Kernel jumpsuit, for instance, which is the product that really put us on the map. At the time, there was lots of boiler suits around, but there wasn’t really a form fitting one made from a stretch jersey. It was about identifying that gap in the market and adding those signature white strips. In terms of the Mimi bottoms, that’s obviously tied to the huge cargo trend, and we were able to enter that as one of the first brands that was doing cargos with a feminine touch added — so we made them more slimline and we always made sure they were fitted on the bum, which is kind of our signature look. I think it’s about identifying which trends feel natural to us — we obviously don’t tap into every trend, rather the ones which we feel will resonate with our community. 

Community is such an integral part of the Peachy Den world; your recent Mimi cargo campaign, which included the likes of Slawn and Kesang Ball, is just one example of this. Can you speak about how important building a tight-knit community is for Peachy Den?

I think it starts with the brand and who works here — we’re a team made up of 12 women and we really represent our customer. We’re fun, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and I think the customer is able to feel that authenticity and relate to that. In terms of building our community externally, we do lots of community events, like pop ups, which we’ve done across London and Paris which are an amazing way to meet our community in real life. We also make sure we have activations like getting your nails done, personalising Peachy Den pieces or getting stick and poke tattoos, which makes them feel more connected to the brand. Recently, we also had a women’s football tournament, where we assembled six teams across London and had our own Peachy team, and we did a mini tournament in the pouring rain. It was honestly one of my favourite things I’ve done, we just put the invite on Instagram and got our customers to come and it really felt like the most authentic thing we’ve done. Then, as you mentioned, tapping into London’s creative community is super important to us and showcasing up and coming talent, like Slawn and Kesang.

Within the world of fashion, there’s an ever-increasing need for brands to employ craft methods which are more sustainable and eco-minded. How is Peachy Den approaching this?

So, we do quite a lot of our production in the UK — we’re really proud that around 50% of our production is still based here. We found this amazing deadstock supplier a few miles east from here in London, so we get a lot of our fabric from this deadstock mill, which we then drop off at our factory in Balham. We’ve introduced deadstock drops which are super limited, so with a set I’m going to wear later, there’s literally only 40 pieces of that. I think that’s so special, to know that you’re only one of 40 people to have that set. Integrating deadstock has been a massive step for us in the right direction.

Our Mimi bottoms, which are our bestsellers at the moment, are made using 100% recycled nylon, so wherever we can, we will always prioritise using fibres which are recycled or eco-friendly. We also have our own in-house atelier where we make all of our patterns, which is quite rare for a premium brand — you would expect that of a luxury brand — but we want to make sure the fit of the product is so perfect before it goes to the factories.

Peachy Den often borrows heavily from vintage pieces, though in a way that’s contemporary and uniquely your own. Where did this love of reinterpreting the past come from?

I’ve always been a very nostalgic person, I’m not sure where that comes from. I think I romanticise the past and memories — I really hold onto them and cherish them. I’ll even look back at what I was wearing at five years old, which is so silly, but taking elements or details of pieces from when I was younger really inspires me. Also, looking at what my mum was wearing when she was my age; every time I go home, I always go to her wardrobe and my eyes draw to something new each time. She’s got an amazing wardrobe. Some of the pieces like the Luella trousers — which is such a simple style — are very much inspired by some vintage trousers she has.

Your pieces are designed to be form fitting and flattering, though not at the expense of comfort. How important is this to Peachy Den and how do you go about ensuring a balance between the two?

That’s such an integral part of our design process. We are always prioritising fabrics that feel soft to touch on your body, and most of our fabrics have stretch in them, so it has that give when you put it on. We make sure that we do lots of wear testing trials, so the design team and I will wear pieces before they launch to ensure we feel super comfy, but also sexy and amazing in these pieces. That’s my style, I love feeling comfy and it’s always the first thing I’ll reach for in the morning, so it’s what feels natural to our identity.

Peachy Den’s fan base also includes a long list of celebrities and influencers. How did you go about building these relationships, or did they come about organically?

From the early days, we really had to build those relationships — I had zero contacts who were influencers or celebrities.I remember when the first influencer to wear Peachy Den posted, Madeleine Rose, we got so many orders that day and I knew we were on to something. We definitely built out that influencer strategy which was instrumental to our growth. Having said that, I think we went through a period of gifting too widely, and we lost a little of our brand identity, so we now focus on fewer girls that we regularly gift throughout the year. We know because they love our product that they’re going to post — we’ve never paid an influencer. Fundamentally, it’s about building organic relationships, especially through in real life experiences such as pop ups or events. With Celebrity dressing, we have worked with talent such as Maya Jama and Amelia Dimoldenberg since the beginning of their careers, and now they are huge. Identifying up and coming has been instrumental to landing us some of our favourite looks.

I’ve noticed a theme with Peachy Den pieces, with products often named after iconic female figures — the Cher top, for instance, or the Sade shirt. Can you speak a little bit about the meaning behind these names?

It usually starts with the design process, so in terms of when we’re gathering research for a capsule. For example, as you said, the Cher top, that was our gingham sets which were baby blue and pink with cute little pleats, which was obviously very inspired by the film Clueless, so each of those pieces were named after characters. Then the soft tailoring we have which is coming up, that is inspired by women who were always breaking gender norms in terms of dressing. So we have the Bardot waistcoat, which are inspired by Bridget Bardot who was wearing tailored suits in the sixties when everyone was wearing miniskirts. We’ve also got the Lennox trouser which is inspired by Annie Lennox who was wearing suits in the ‘80s in all of her shows. I think it makes the story so much stronger when you tap into the research and build narratives, ensuring there’s a stronger message around the product.

Often, Peachy Den pieces are designed to seamlessly transition between work and leisure, catering to females with busy lifestyles who don’t want to sacrifice style. How do you go about striking this balance between relaxed and formal? 

Versatility is at the forefront of our design process. We actually have a number of questions up on the board that we run through when we’re designing product, so it can be anything from “can this item be worn on a size 6 and a size 18?” to “can this item be worn to work and out and about?”. We really make sure we’re tapping into what our community does day to day and that each product matches up to their lifestyle. We also create full looks, so a full set or a jumpsuit, and I think that’s something that can be easily changed from day to night using a few accessory pieces — a chunky belt, or a change of shoes. Even what I’m wearing today can be dressed up or dressed down, it’s just a simple, elevated and put together look. You have to design for timeless appeal and for across seasons, because people are thinking so much more about what they’re purchasing — you can’t just focus on trends. As we’ve discussed, you nod to it, but I think it’s much stronger to focus on your core product and to imagine what its lifecycle is across months and years.