This Friday Underlines chats to Gillian Ridley Whittle, Founder of ethical underwear and clothing brand Peachaus. Gillian has lived and breathed the clothing industry for decades and is determined to make the ‘everyday beautiful’.
Life before Peachaus?
Looking back I realise I was born to be in the clothing industry. At the age of 7 I had my first Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sewing machine which was the start of a love of fashion and making my own clothes. After school I went on to study fashion and marketing at Northumbria University and since then have had a long career in corporate fashion retail, initially training as a buyer and then working my way up the ranks to trading/fashion director roles. I have worked for many notable retailers, M&S, Debenhams, Topshop plus a 4 year stint in Australia working for Target and Myer where I ran the women’s, lingerie, beauty and kidswear businesses. After returning from Australia in 2018, my last corporate role in my ‘old life’, was as Topshop Fashion Director taking them through the very difficult time of COVID-19 to its sale to ASOS.
Why did you set up Peachaus?
I always said when the time was right I would launch my own brand. Although Peachaus launched in March 2022 it was initially created in early 2016 when I was between roles in Australia. In recent years as I have observed the fashion industry move to perennial discounting, and profit at any cost to people and planet, I realised that I could no longer be a part of this problem and decided that I need to be a part of the solution. I saw an opportunity to create a brand that puts people and planet at its core. Brands like Peachaus have an opportunity to show consumers that there is a sustainable option on the shelf and to prove to the fashion industry at large that there are viable routes to genuine sustainability that do make commercial sense.
During COVID-19 I was determined that I would get Peachaus off the ground as it felt like the right time, so I worked on the brand story and the business plan in the background. I was very fortunate in 2020 when I was introduced to Cedric Wilmotte, CEO of Michael Kors. At that time he was investing in sustainable people centric businesses; I had the opportunity to present Peachaus to him which he loved, he asked me to dig deeper on our purpose and work on our business plan, which I did, and 6 months later when Topshop was sold to ASOS the stars aligned and he invested. He is a wonderful human being; he has been right by my side the whole time, as my business partner and mentor, and is an incredible support.
What does the name Peachaus stand for?
When I came up with the brand I wanted to find a name that has depth and meaning. The name Peachaus is more relevant now than ever at this time where the world is so unstable politically, environmentally, socially. Peachaus – peace, each – each of us as individuals, haus – community, us – connection and collaboration.
Why intimate apparel at your core?
I fell in love with the lingerie industry during my 7 years initially as head of buying for M&S Lingerie and then as trading director; it was definitely a highlight of my career as we grew the market share from 24% to almost 30% whilst I was there. Underwear is such an integral part of a woman’s wardrobe, how it fits and how it makes her feel. I loved the product development, the innovations in technology and fabrics to provide comfort and body solutions and the beautiful European designed laces and embroideries; plus it was the time when Sir Stuart Rose introduced Plan A and we worked to launch the first carbon neutral bra made in the worlds first green factory built by MAS in Sri Lanka which was a proud moment in M&S history.
What’s your brand’s DNA?
When I came up with the concept for Peachaus I realised that there was a ‘white space’ in the market. There was lots of basic underwear and lounge/sleepwear and at the other end of the scale lots of sexy/glamour but there was a gap in the middle for feminine, comfortable, light, products for everyday wear. This was 2016 but I could see that there was a big shift happening in the market towards comfort. Lifestyles were changing, people were dressing more casually and comfort being a key part of this. I was living in Australia at this time and ‘athleisure’ was the main look outside of work and I loved the freedom of the Australian lifestyle, working to live not living to work. I saw an opportunity to create a wardrobe of everyday lifestyle products from underwear to sleepwear, to lounge and athleisure to suit her everyday need.
Our products are ‘everyday beautiful’; we allow creativity to flourish, we use beautiful recycled and ethical fabrics such as ethical cotton, bamboo, recycled polyester; all our laces and meshes are from Iluna’s green line collection which uses recycled nylon yarns. As well as performance; comfort and softness is integral to each of our garments. Our underwear is crafted from the lightest laces and elastics so much so that our customers say ‘its like wearing air.’ We are season-less as seasons really have no bearing today, we don’t follow trend as this perpetuates the consumer demand for more and more; our colour and our prints are considered and beautiful to inspire optimism and positivity. Everything we do is about ensuring our customers not only feel but look great. We consider every detail both inside and outside the garment, everything has to be a work of art! And so to add to this feeling we believe our customers should also know where the products are sourced and should have full transparency of the supply chain too. All of our products are produced in gold standard accredited factories in mainly Portugal and also India where they treat both their people and the planet well.
Why have you introduced a new sizing system on your underwear?
We conducted research during the development of the brand and one of the most common pieces of feedback is that women are confused about bra sizing. They are fitted differently across different brands and most don’t know what size they are if indeed they have even been measured recently.
The current archaic bra sizing conventions were invented years ago and are based on pattern cutting measurements not real bodies and women’s bodies have changed enormously since then. As a woman we all know our dress size so the Peachaus sizing is simple, we call it ‘simply sized’. Your band size is your dress size ie. S, M, L and your cup size is the fullest part of your bust and we number it 1-8. Super simple and our customers love this simplicity. We believe a woman knows her body best and should own her fit. Of course, we know women need educating to migrate towards this system so we also display the current sizing. Our sizes run from a 30B-36G.
What is different about designing underwear?
Designing a bra is a feat of engineering with over 30 components in every underwired bra from the fabrics and trims to the wires, wire casings, elastics, hardware, hooks and eyes. To create a bra that fits women of all body shapes and sizes takes a huge amount of technical knowledge and expertise. I am fortunate as I have an amazing experienced technical underwear designer working on our products, Sophie Morgenthaler. She set out to create a product that not only performs amazingly in terms of fit and comfort but is also beautiful in every detail.
A typical week?
It sounds cliche but honestly there is no typical week. I spend my life between Wiltshire and London. We are a small team and are still working remotely. We generally meet up as a full team every 4 weeks in London. Mondays’ we have a team meeting to check in with each other, discuss trading actions and to run through the priorities for the next couple of weeks. From there on in I am organising to attend trade fairs, we will be showing at Salon International in Paris this month and also Indx and Pure. I am speaking to lawyers and potential investors as we are currently raising funds to open our first Peachaus retail and leisure venue (very exciting!) I am liaising with our creative agency on our ‘launch’ campaign for March and the supporting marketing activities. We are building on our product range so working with Sophie on new concepts and sourcing new sustainable factories for other product categories. I am working with Debbie Luffman of Think Circular on our positive impact deliverables and road map and soon to start our BCorp application. So plenty to keep me busy!
Health is something I am very conscious of as I suffered from anxiety for many years. I walk most mornings and do yoga, breathing and grounding practices to ensure I keep myself strong and stable. This is very much at the core of Peachaus and so we always start our team meeting by checking in with each other and I encourage all of our team members to live for themselves first, doing what they love and looking after themselves mentally and physically.
Who do you admire in the underwear industry?
There is so much happening in the underwear industry at present. There are many new brands emerging which is challenging the ‘old guard’ with new innovations and a change in emphasis towards comfort and empowerment for the women who wear it, I could not pick out one particular brand. The main thing I would say is that any new or established brand has to prioritise sustainability and ethical practices and has a responsibility to educate its consumer to buy less and buy better. The fashion industry continues to damage the planet and we all need to play our part in fixing this.
“The fashion industry continues to damage the planet and we all need to play our part in fixing this”
Any other ambitions for the brand?
I have big plans for Peachaus. I am a change maker and we are here to leave a positive impact to both people and planet so everything we do from sourcing our products to mentoring new talent, to giving back is designed to do that. We are a lifestyle brand so my vision is to open our first Peachaus lifestyle venue in the next year which will blend retail and leisure experiences in one space. I won’t say anymore as its still in the curating and incubating phase. My priority right now is to grow our customer base and drive our growth this year on line, through wholesale and through pop-up retail. Our first 18 months of trading have been about lots of testing and learning, I call it our soft launch!! I am excited to now have our official launch with our first campaign in March which will showcase our story and our product on a wider scale. Watch this space!
“I am a change maker and we are here to leave a positive impact to both people and planet”
Proudest moment to date?
There are so many of these; on a personal note I am proud that I have pivoted my life and followed my truth and purpose to launch Peachaus and do something meaningful and worthwhile with my life.
Being fortunate to be a mother and to see my 2 sons flourish makes me very proud.
Worst move so far?
Oooh I think being way too ambitious with our sales when we launched Peachaus which meant we had no money left to pay for marketing to establish the brand!
Time out?
Fresh air, exercise, stillness…and love going to a cosy pub!!
Pet Hate?
Mess and clutter!!
