When I arrived at the achingly cool East London studio space of roaming
vintage store
Rag & Bow, founder Hazel had just received some
exciting news. Entrepreneur Country, the community founded by BBC
Online ‘Dragon’ Julie Meyer, had just nominated the brand for their ‘Young
Masters Award’ of ‘Best Use of Social Media’.
Deservedly so, Rag & Bow don’t just occupy your average
Facebook
page and
Twitter feed; there’s tutorials, polls and giveaways, plus a behind-
the-scenes look at what Hazel gets up to, the people she meets and inspiring
things she sees. Naturally, their perfectly executed
blog provides vintage
stimulus as well as telling all on the hottest new pieces to arrive in store and
exciting collaborations.
Starting her career in the music industry, Hazel Holtham spent ten years
cutting her teeth working for Done and Dusted events, freelancing for live
music DVDs and personally managing the likes of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint.
Despite a burgeoning career in entertainment, having studied Fashion
Promotion at the London College of Fashion, Hazel had retained a passion
for vintage and contemporary clothing. As a career high was reached in music,
Hazel felt it time to take the next step.
Rag & Bow didn’t come in to
fruition straight away, rather the time was taken to plan the brand and consider
its many attributes. She worked two jobs, running events alongside and finally
launched in February 2010. Rag & Bow’s debut came in the form of a
pop-up shop at Cube PR’s head office, which also launched the firm’s
continuing retail space.
Today, Rag & Bow hosts a monthly travelling vintage boutique,
specialising in rare designer pieces and mirroring the hottest commercial
trends. They also run an online shop on ASOS Marketplace, becoming a firm
favourite on the platform. Florence of Florence and the Machine is a fan after
visiting an event in Kensal Green and leaving with armfuls of clothing, while
recent X Factor runner up Amelia Lily wore an item while singing China In
Your Hand on the talent show; “it felt like such an achievement seeing one
of our pieces on TV” comments Hazel.
Chatting with Hazel in her natural environment, it becomes clear that Rag
& Bow is a very ambitious brand, with an equally entrepreneurial founder
at the helm. For the future, the brand will focus on their digital offer, namely
e-commerce. There’s more roaming and collaborations in the pipeline but focus
is being put on the digital.
Talking collaborations, with
On|Off,
Channel 4,
Tate &
Supermarket Sarah
already under their belt, fashion events to be held at big name music festivals
and another venture with Sarah are also in talks, while it’s a dream of Hazel’s to
collaborate with fashion names including queen of deco kitsch Holly Fulton and
jewellery brand Mawi. Event-wise, anything that combines music and fashion is
where Hazel’s interest lies; “a deal with something like the MTV Awards, to
really put the brand out there” would be ideal.
Of course, I had to ask who are Hazel’s favourite designers, historically and
today. “Historically, YSL, Bill Gibb, Ossie Clark, Halston and Bus Stop by
Lee Bender. Today, Mary Katrantzou, JW Anderson, Ricardo Tisci and the
beautifully body-conscience and architectural work of Simon Preen”.
As well as strengthening their digital offer and exciting collaborations to think
about, Rag & Bow is a company with global expansion on its mind.
Among Hazel’s goals are solidifying her team and planning to broaden the
brand internationally; publicity by way of Australia’s Frank magazine are
already underway.
For Hazel, fashion and her business have no beginning and end. As much of a
hobby as a job, she confesses she is ‘obsessed by fashion and all creative
disciplines’, and is an avid reader and follower of magazines and blogs. Does
someone so driven ever relax? “I’m really in to films and music of course. I love
catching exhibitions, taking breaks and am a bit of a foodie”.
Rag & Bow's top vintage items for spring/summer 12, modelled
by Stella Katterman.
Originally published for the Trend Journal.
