When Kate Met Land Journals

Perched on the brink of the new year is often a good time to look ahead and think about what’s to come. It’s also a time of reflection and understanding where you are and how you got there. Kate spoke with Rachel Holland of Land Journals earlier in the season here. It’s a lovely insight into the world of Kate and her inspirations and aspirations. We hope you enjoy it.

Can you describe a typical day for you, are there any rituals or practices that you have that help to nurture you creatively?

I’d like to say I have a strict meditation routine but I haven’t got there yet. I absolutely have to go to the gym 2 or 3 times a week - that's my headspace and I'm always telling my trainer to stop chatting with me. I'm not being rude, but it really is my time to disconnect with everything and just focus on the singularity of exercising and nothing else. I need that time. I also do pilates regularly - again, for both the mental and physical benefits. Creatively, I'm a big dreamer at night and I find I often get lots of design inspiration in the small hours - in that blurred space between being awake and asleep.

What was your upbringing like and childhood - were you always creative or did this come later?

My mother was not creative. She had quite strict parameters that seemed to leave no room for creativity. Her brother on the other hand was very creative and he ran Colefax and Fowler for many years.  I feel my natural creative desire was suppressed growing up.  I was a dreamer and a big reader. Our countryside upbringing was surrounded by horses, which sounds idyllic, but I was absolutely terrified of them as was my brother. After breakfast we were thrown outside to play in the pig sty, rain or shine. When the bell rang we could come inside for lunch. It was quite regimented and perhaps that made it hard to find my true creative self.  It’s sad to say, but I didn't really find anything that made me happy until 1) I met my husband and 2) I started designing - that's when I realised what had been missing in my life. I didn't realise until I started doing it what joy designing brought me. 

Can you share your career journey and what inspired you to start your own clothing label - Kate Barton?

I started working for Vogue when I was 19. I worked in the travel department and it gave me a real desire to get out and explore. I only did a short stint there before I went off traveling for 2.5 years. I came back age 23, got married and applied for job in the Laura Ashley press office. I got the job, despite my lovely boss at the time saying that I was way over qualified - I didn't care - I just wanted to get a foot through the door at somewhere creative. After about a year, I took over running the fashion shows, setting them up and running them all over the country.  It involved organising drinks parties, booking the models, creating the shoot list, styling the shoots - I was doing it all really. Wonderful experience but I was away from home a lot, so I resigned. Nick Ashley then offered me a job in the design office in Bagleys Lane. I  became a designer and designed all the leather goods - shoes, handbags, belts as well as jersey, t-shirting and sweatshirting.  I loved the job and did it for a couple of years through very difficult times - it was when Mrs Ashley died. The company was sold at roughly the same time and became flooded with new people who, in my opinion, were perhaps less true to what the Laura Ashley brand was all about. It became a complex place to work and I had by then developed a huge desire to set up my own thing.  

I set up the General Clothing Company and I called it that because I wasn't really sure what I was going to do! I was debating maternity wear or childrenswear, I didn't know. I ended up focusing the brand on childrenswear which I absolutely adored. What I realised then, and what still applies to my approach today, is that I wanted children to feel comfy. I wanted them to look good, but not in crisp, cold fabrics and unpractical designs. I wanted soft, easy, elasticated, unfussy. Childrenswear was filled with high end brands selling smock dresses. I focused on everyday comfortable clothing and I did that for 10 years before setting up Mini Boden with Johnnie.  I was a design consultant and I absolutely loved designing for children - it filled my head with fun and I still long to do it again. Life changed when I became pregnant with our 5th child and we bought a house in the country.  My focus then became an enormous house renovation until I woke up one morning and I realised there was something missing in my life.  I decided to go to India as I knew I was missing design and fabrics. A friend of mine came to stay the night before I flew and when I told her I had no idea why I was going she recited a quote by Rumi, the Iranian poet.  I often use it with my own children 'When you walk along the way, the way appears'. Rumi was right - I returned from India having found a supplier and I started my collection. Covid got in the way, but it gave me time to think more about the business before officially launching in 2021. After 6 months I employed my first member of staff.

How would you describe your design philosophy? Are there any other designers or makers who you admire?
Plenty for different reasons. I love looking back at historical and vintage designs. I love designers who do that and you can really see it in their work. Whilst I admire plenty of other brands, I don't think there are any other businesses that truly deliver what I do - comfort, ease, relaxed with style and I'm proud to not follow trends at all. 

How do you begin your design process and the beginnings of a collection or new piece? What do you hope to achieve before you start creating?

Always start with the body shape and occasion. I pay attention to when my pieces are going to be worn. Have I given them something to walk the dog in, do the school run then jump on the train, something to keep them warm? Body shape is a starting point because I don't want garments that cling and are uncomfortable. I think about what would I wear and when would I wear it. 

What types of sustainable materials do you prefer to work with and why?

I feel very strongly that anything we create shouldn't be here forever.  If I did my knitwear in acrylic it would be so much cheaper, but it wouldn't offer the warmth and more importantly it's not biodegradable. I follow the guidelines but it is a bamboozling world - we rely on our suppliers so it's important to work with people you trust.  I also spend a lot of time researching the best quality fabrics - so for example, hard wearing denim for longevity is very important to me. I also always design a very streamlined collection - I don’t create styles for the sake of it. I like a small, hardworking collection where pieces can be mixed and matched across the collection. 

How have you seen your industry evolve over the past few years, and what major trends do you anticipate in the near future?

I think people are more time poor than ever before. There are so many demands on us today.  Online shopping has revolutionised people's lives, but no doubt the high street is suffering. Many people are like me and want to try stuff on, but I simply don't have time to browse around the shops to then find that they only have one size 8 left in stock. That doesn't work. It's hard work to sell online. I think finding ways to allow people to experience your brand but still do the majority of selling online is a way forward. We are looking more at events and possible opportunities to bring our lovely customers closer to our brand in the physical world.  Watch this space! 

Have you ever faced a significant challenge in your business and how you overcame it?

Where do I start?!  My biggest one has to be cash flow on the business side of things. I can't grow the company without an injection of capital so it is slow organic growth, which I do believe is the right way. I've also realised that it's not just the design that sells, it's the photography. I've had to put a lot more budget into our shoots than I ever expected.

Has this shaped how you work today?

I have had to learn to work much further ahead in order to allow my team to have time to organise the social media, photography and everything else.  

Have you had any mentors or people that you’ve admired who significantly influenced your career? What lessons did you learn from them?

Plenty.  One big learning from watching others is that I don't want my business to be overwhelmingly large. I have a fantastic, small team and I'd like to think that we can maintain the business together.  My team are very much part of the journey of the company - they aren't just employees. If i'm the backbone, they're the vertebrae.Fashion in itself isn’t really  sustainable anymore, with the resale market only expanding - so how do you practise staying within sustainable parameters as a brand? Do you have best practices which you stick to?

We have trusted family run suppliers who we have worked with since day 1. I visit the factories whenever I get the chance and have developed wonderful relationships with our partners. I'd very much like to develop the second hand market but at the moment my team is too small to properly explore this. We are looking at repair kits currently as I'm very keen to inspire and teach my customers to repair their own clothes. I love creative repair and I have endless things around the house and in the studio that have been patched - my jeans, my cushions, my bed linen.  I love to use contrasting fabrics to enhance the end result - so if I've got a pair of blue striped trousers, I'll use a red check patch.   

Who are your biggest influences or role models in the sustainable fashion world?

I admire a lot of brilliant businesses who are paving the way when it comes to sustainability. I struggle with the extra cost involved as I'm ever conscious of wanting to keep the brand accessible and oftentimes I can't do certain things unless I put my prices up. We'd like to be B Corp certified but it's a big job for a small business. Certainly when I have an injection of capital, I'll be able to implement a lot of ideas I'm constantly chewing over. 

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance, especially given the demands of running your own business, do you have any daily practices or  rituals that sustain you?

My family is my priority and I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren. I sometimes wish I was two people because I love my work and I love my family.

Can you share a success story or a moment that you’re particularly proud of in your fashion designing journey?

Well I get super excited when I see people wearing my things on the street - it really gives me a lift. Also, when I do a design and it sells out. There's the other side to that of course - when I just can't understand why something I love doesn't sell as well as I had hoped.  That's always hard. I am incredibly proud of the fact that I work for myself.  When you work for someone else you sometimes have to do things you don't completely agree with, but everything I do comes from the heart. 

What do you hope to achieve through your work in the next five to ten years?

I'd like to achieve a better work life balance - the holy grail! Also, to continue to design garments that I feel passionate about and that my customers enjoy wearing. We have an audience who I believe are a little underserved with what's out there at the moment. I feel proud because I think we serve them well.  I want women to be braver, more confident and be less worried about what people think when it comes to fashion choices. I think if you feel good you automatically look good.  

Is there anything currently inspiring you that you can share?

Colours in the garden.  I very often find that my garden contributes to my palette for another season.  

What’s on the Kate Barton stereo currently?

My husband would have drum and bass on at all times. I'm more of a Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel girl myself. Or Kirsty MacColl and Parov Stelar.  I also love Faithless and Leonard Cohen is always top of my list. My children play fantastic mellow music that I've never heard of, but I'm influenced by them but don't ask me who it is!  My husband and two of my boys DJ, so between us we have a very eclectic and wide range of music tastes.  

What’s next for Kate Barton, this year and beyond?

More of the same.  Better, not bigger collections.  I'd like to spend more time researching what my customers want so that I can really deliver what people are looking for.

What is one truth that you wish everyone knew?

About me? That I'm not very confident - too much self doubt. I'm needier than I'd like to be and I sometimes lack self confidence. My supportive team and my family lift me up.

What’s your astrology - sun, moon, rising?

I don't actually know.  I'm not really into it.