From Fast Fashion Buyer to Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneur:

Keeping Up With An Ever Evolving Industry.

Interview with Claire McCullough, by Emma Golley

06.21.2021

Since 2020, there has been a huge influx of entrepreneurs breaking away from their 9-5s to pursue their passions and carve out their own careers. Fashion Buyer Claire McCullough is one of them. Previously a buyer for Primark, one of the biggest retailers in the UK & Europe, Claire has recently launched not one - but two businesses Style.Edit.Fix and The Swap Shop. Both businesses operate with sustainability and responsible consumption in mind. From helping curate your dream outfits using parts of your existing wardobe - to offering a clothes swap platform. Claire has honed in on the current consumer demand for mindful shopping.

We checked in with her to find out how seismic shifts in the fashion industry and evolving shopping habits influenced her career change.

Claire, you've been a buyer in the fashion industry over 8 years, tell us about your highs and lows from your buying career:

Starting my career in buying has really allowed me to grasp a wider understanding of how the industry works. You are involved from the very beginning. Right from the design concept stage to seeing your products on the shop floor. I loved the creative process of collaborating with different people, and it was so exciting seeing my ideas turn into a reality. Spotting a stranger in the street wearing something I’d worked on was really cool. I also loved the travel involved. I’d regularly go on trips that took me to Asia, Europe and America, meeting some amazing people and learning about their roles in the buying process.

“I also started to see a shift in the industry as well as people's shopping habits. I knew the industry was about to change from what I’d previously known.“

Over the last couple of years, I’d started to fall out of love with buying for the high street. It can be very demanding and I wanted to get some work/life balance back in my life. I also started to see a shift in the industry as well as people's shopping habits. I knew the industry was about to change from what I’d previously known. For me, it was so important to have absolute freedom and creative ownership with whatever it was that I would do next, while also helping to create some balance in an industry previously built on ‘more, more, more’.

When did you decide to break away from corporate fashion to start your own business and what were your reasons behind the transition?

It’s something I’d been thinking about for quite a while, but I found it very difficult to make the decision. I’d always craved more freedom within my role and wanted to break away from the 9-5 working model, while also creating something of my own that I was doing for myself. When I lived in London, the prospect of a complete career switch seemed very daunting. In summer of last year (2020), my partner and I moved to the Kent coast, and it allowed me some time to think clearly about what I really loved and how I could build it into a viable business. I’d always had a real love for styling, and how creative you can be with outfit building. Throughout the first lockdown in the UK, I took a course on personal styling, and so Style.Edit.Fix was born.

Tell us about both your businesses Style.Edit.Fix and The Swap Shop and the purpose behind them:

The idea is that both businesses run alongside each other, and feed each other. Style.Edit.Fix. was my first baby. This is my personal styling platform – I put a real focus on teaching people how to get the most out of their wardrobe. It’s very common for people to continuously buy new pieces for their wardrobe, because they are not happy with their current selection. They’re either bored with what they own or find limited inspiration on how to style individual pieces- only to find they end up buying similar styles to which they already have. The range of services I offer is designed to first work with what you already own in your wardrobe, and then to layer on pieces that will work really hard, in the right fit and palette for you. 

“Before launching I spent weeks and weeks researching competition, and developing my business model so I was offering something different.”

The Swap Shop organically grew from seeing so many unworn, but beautiful clothes in people's wardrobes. I wanted to create a space to showcase these. It was really important to me that the shopping experience wasn’t compromised just because you were shopping for preloved items. This means I personally approve every item that gets submitted, and have it professionally photographed before being uploaded on the website.

The way it works is really simple. You sign up to a monthly membership – this gives you access to all the clothes we currently have in The Swap Shop. All you do is submit your unwanted clothes via the website, and we take care of the rest.

When you first had the idea for your business, where did you start and how did you go about turning your ideas into reality:

It started with a lot of research. Before launching I spent weeks and weeks researching competition, and developing my business model so I was offering something different. I then started to think about branding, and creating my website. All of which I did by myself with very minimal previous experience.

“Shopping for preloved items has become the norm, and is only set to grow, what with businesses such as Vestiaire and Depop recently having been bought by big investors.”

What are some unexpected challenges you've run into so far?

Lockdown! With personal styling the clue is in the title, and I quickly had to adapt a new approach when the opportunity for face to face services came to a halt. I developed services that could be conducted online, but I am happy to say that I can now see clients IRL with a mix of online services.

Where do you believe the future of fashion is heading and how do you see your business growing within that space?

Consumers are becoming so much more aware of over consumption, and questioning more and more what they actually need. I especially think this has been accelerated by a year of very little plans, people have been looking at their wardrobes differently. Shopping for preloved items has become the norm, and is only set to grow, what with businesses such as Vestiaire and Depop recently having been bought by big investors.

Both of my business models have a message of sustainability, and focus on your wardrobe working hard and being filled only with what you love and actually wear, while offering a new alternative platform to shop preloved.

Now that you're living the entrepreneur life, is there any chance of you going back to corporate fashion?

No way haha! No, I will never say never, but I’ve never been happier or felt more fulfilled with work. It’s hard work and there are a whole new set of challenges that you have to navigate, but the freedom, and sense of achievement when I get feedback from happy clients or see ‘The Swap Shop’ growing, I don’t think can be replaced by a corporate environment.

What advice do you have for other female founders considering starting their own fashion business?

What are you waiting for?!  If you have an idea, and truly believe there is a need for what you have to offer, then go for it. No one can believe in you like you believe in yourself, so you have to trust your gut. There are so many great resources that cost very little or are even free when you are first starting out, and engage your network.

Who do you already know that you could ask for advice. When YOU are the marketing, finance, social media, logistics and web development team, you won’t have all the knowledge already, but you might have some pals who are experts.

Thank you Claire! To keep up to date Claire’s two businesses, follow Style.Edit.Fix and The SwapShop on IG.

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