Underlines talks with Steff McGrath, MD of independent British brand, Something Wicked: boudoir lingerie lovingly handmade in the UK. Passionate about the brand but equally passionate about manufacturing in the UK, she has been helping other labels with design, pattern making, grading, sampling and final manufacture. Bok Goodall reports.
Tell us about Something Wicked?
All our beautiful boudoir lingerie, is handmade from start to finish by our team of skilled seamstresses in Leeds. Our signature look is created using beautifully soft Japanese plonge leather. As a brand we stand for female empowerment; when you wear Something Wicked it makes you feel incredible and powerful (like a suit of under armour!). You can’t empower women in one country yet exploit them in another, which is why we feel so strongly about keeping our manufacturing in the UK, keeping it transparent, and never outsourcing our production. Even our leather accessories are handmade in England by a talented female saddler, and our leather polish is made by an award winning bee-keeper in the UK.
You can’t empower women in one country yet exploit them in another…
Because all our production is in-house, we only make what we need, which means that we don’t have to guess what stock to make. It’s much less wasteful this way. Also, it makes it really flexible for stockists as there are no minimum order quantities, and they can always order what they need as we will never sell out of an item as we make it all in-house.
How long have you been offering development and production services to other like-minded brands or labels in need to educated advice?
I’ve always been passionate about manufacturing in the UK, from the start. It’s not always the cheapest way to do it, but it definitely feels like the right way. When Covid hit, followed by our actual departure from Europe, we saw a real dip in the wholesale side of the business, so I looked for other opportunities. We are members of Make It British, a community of brands who all manufacture in the UK. We started to get enquiries from people who were looking to start up lingerie brands, and looking specifically for UK lingerie manufacturers as the cost of producing overseas had risen sharply, and people had seen a negative impact on their supply chains after Brexit. It was good to be able to understand their needs from a manufacturer point of view, but also a brand point of view. For the last year and a half, the production side of the business has been going from strength to strength!
What do you hope to achieve on a personal and business level?
More development in the UK and future UK production – helping brands through the pitfalls of development and production – hand holding, information and skill sharing etc.
Having been through the highs and lows of running a lingerie brand ourselves, we love meeting people on all the different stages of their journey. Some people come to us with an idea in the form of a rough pencil drawn sketch. Some have got finished samples, patterns, and tech packs and are ready to start manufacturing. Whatever stage they are at, we can add value. We are not simply a manufacturer, we can advise on all aspects of building their brand, whether it is fabric advice, sharing supplier contacts, looking at ways to cut costs, or helping them to accurately work out their cost per unit price. We have met some people who have lost a huge amount of money on the development process and have come away with nothing, which is heart breaking. It’s a passion of mine to help as many brands as possible start up and manufacture in the UK! It’s easier than you think it is, and it has so many benefits – being able to be involved in all the stages, not having huge minimum order quantities, being able to be reactive and change and improve your product in real time, are just a few!
Sampling and production facilities
What is the scale of this side of your business?
We have worked with 9 wonderful brands so far. They have all been at very different stages with different requirements, and it has been really interesting to see where we can help along their journey. The services we offer are design, pattern making, grading, sampling and manufacturing, with a whole lot of knowledge sharing in between! We know there are a large number of new and established brands that need sampling, development and manufacture.
A Typical Week…in your life
There’s no typical week, each day can be very different, which also makes things more interesting. Running a UK-made brand and also running a manufacturing facility are complimentary, but there are so many things that need to happen that there will never be a typical day. We have a fantastic team here in Leeds though, it really is an extended team effort. The ability to step back, being calm in a crisis, and having a sense of humour definitely helps! Oh and being able to bring the dogs in the studio every day is the icing on the cake.
Your next big challenge?
A real challenge is to make more people understand the real benefits of manufacturing in the UK, and not just looking at the cost per unit. Clothing has almost been seen as disposable in recent years, as it can be bought so cheaply in some instances. Sometimes people don’t see a value to it and have become detached to the fact that someone has used skills and time to physically make that item. Anything made in the UK, where people are treated and paid fairly, will always cost more than overseas production.
We have close links with Huddersfield University and provide work experience opportunities for students on their textile courses. I would love to see more initiatives to encourage the next generation to see the importance and value of the UK manufacturing industry.
You can reach Steff at Something Wicked on (0113) 243 5848.
