We like to think of ourselves as a ‘responsible’ brand

Ro&Zo, founded by best friends Rosie Bowden and Zoe de Abreu, is known for its chic and body-positive collection. The brand focuses on sustainability and premium materials and wants each range to make women feel the best version of themselves. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, the Co-founders discuss the challenges they encountered while developing the brand, their clientele, and their take on sustainability.

Fibre2Fashion: What drove you two to launch your own brand and how would you describe your experience so far?

Rosie Bowden & Zoe de Abreu:

Rosie Bowden: It was quite a surreal experience as we came up with the concept and developed the brand during the first COVID lockdown. We jumped at the opportunity given the disappearing brands from the high street and saw a gap for an affordable yet premium quality and original new womenswear brand. It was certainly a change having our initial meetings over Zoom and trying to show the product on camera to prospective partners.

F2F: So, technology was very helpful in launching your brand, right?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: I think the use of technology is very exciting. Even though it is not typically ‘fashion related’, it is going to improve our business and streamline operations so much. As people spent so much time online during the pandemic, they have become more comfortable with using technology. For example, we have installed TrueFit on our website, which uses some very clever AI (artificial intelligence) to help predict a customer’s size. Not only does this improve one’s shopping experience, but also helps minimise returns as the customer hopefully gets her size right the first time.

F2F: With so many fashion brands coming into the picture, what makes your label stand out?

RB&ZDA:

Zoe de Abreu: Our collections are very feminine with the focus on prints, vibrant colours, and grea quality fabrics. we place a lot of emphasis on the fit, that’s why elegant, and sophisticated yet versatile designs are a must. Each month we drop collections based on what we think our customers would want to wear. For example, in April 2023 we will be dropping our linen, broderie anglaise, and maxi collections.

F2F: Where do you get your creative nutrition from?

RB&ZDA:

Zoe de Abreu: I get a lot of ideas from street style, which either comes from influencers attending fashion events or even the general public. The best thing to do is to always observe what people are wearing around you. Due to our manufacturing set-up, we have the benefit of being able to see ideas around us and to include them in our designs instantly. The catwalk is also an important place to get inspiration from especially regarding trends for the season and colour palettes.

F2F: Your brand started operating in the early days of the pandemic. How did it help?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: We believe that we have found a significant gap in the market as no one was offering the same quality, unique prints, and feminine styling that we do within the same price point. In addition, we manage most of our own manufacturing, which means that not only are we in complete control of our processes but also are able to offer better quality at a better price.

F2F: Where is your clientele majorly from in terms of geography?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: Interestingly, we seem to have a loyal customer base pretty much countrywide. As we are in 14 John Lewis stores which are scattered all around, we have found that our work is appreciated not just in London, but also in cities like Newcastle, Oxford, Liverpool, and Edinburgh to name but a few!

F2F: What marketing strategies are applied for the potential profit and growth of the brand?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: We want to build up our UGC (user generated content) as we feel it is so important and effective for customers to see how the clothes actually fit and look on real women. This can be organic and is a really good way to connect with our community. We also want to massively grow our paid marketing in 2023 and are looking at some really exciting ventures, such as direct mail and print advertising. Of course, Facebook and Instagram ads are still part of our strategy, but it is getting harder and more expensive for them to be effective in the current climate.

F2F: What is your take on sustainable/slow fashion and how would you include it in your creations?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: We like to think of ourselves as a ‘responsible’ brand rather than a ‘sustainable’ one as it will take a lot more work and a bigger team to fully make the transition to 100 per cent sustainability. We use at least 75 per cent recycled or sustainable fabrics and make sure all our factories and suppliers are fully audited. We want to continue this journey and intend to be as transparent as possible with our customers

F2F: What are the top five fashion trends that you are predicting for 2023?

RB&ZDA:

Zoe de Abreu: I am betting on pastel colours, fringing, watercolour prints, column dressing, and soft ruffles.

F2F: What are the forthcoming plans for your label?

RB&ZDA:

Rosie Bowden: We are so excited about launching our new website in February 2023. It will be a great way for us to connect better with our community and to really showcase our beautiful imagery and videos. We are also in the early stages of planning a physical retail location. We are exploring the potential of running a few pop-ups to start with and to discover the location best suited to our needs. It is going to be a really exciting 2023!