Meet Sissi Xia, a UK-based independent fashion designer, founder of Tutussie
Mid-priced designer brands are booming in the UK. As the pandemic shifted consumers’ intentions from “buying experiences” to “buying things they need,” mid-price designers and young independent brands were given a unique opportunity to flourish between the affordable and luxury brands.
According to McKinsey, the trend of “casualisation” in the fashion industry already existed before the pandemic, and that picked up speed throughout 2020 and is likely to emerge as a dominant force across many fashion categories in 2021 in Europe.
Here, Sissi Xia, a Hungary-born Chinese entrepreneur, tells her story of founding her women’s fashion line in London.
Sissi was born in Hungary. She came to London in 2019 after graduating from St. Andrews University with a degree in Psychology then decided to step into the UK fashion industry as an independent designer. Her store is currently located within Platform, an indie boutique featuring independent designers and artists in St Christopher’s Place, in Central London.
“I always like beautiful clothes and have been dreaming of making affordable womenswear for those who cannot afford to spend over £2000 for a Max Mara coat. In comparison, my coats are made of wool and cashmere, have the same quality as Maxmara, and only cost £875, which is only less than 1/2 the price of an ironic Maxmara coat. In addition, I offer a 10% discount for first-time buyers.”
“The brand was built in early 2021, during the lockdown in London. It started on Instagram first. I had to ask my friends to model for my coats, and I took all of the photoshoots. They were kind enough to be models for my clothes for free, and I couldn’t afford to hire a studio for photoshoots. All the advertising images for Instagram were taken in the lobby within my residential building.”
The young start-up designer is under the pressure of restrictions of selling her clothes in the shop. “Due to the UK government’s consideration of a ban on fur sales in 2020, the store prefers not to showcase any of my fur coats from my autumn/winter collection.”
“The reason that I choose ‘coats’ as the main product of my label is that: I think for women it is very utterly important to have a good coat. Expensive handbags, shoes, fine jewellery and luxury watches are categorized as ‘accessories’, whereas good outwear always seals a deal, especially in the winter season. For example, if you see a woman walking down the street with a luxury handbag but wears a poor-quality coat, the whole look of her just doesn’t add up together.” Sissi demonstrates.
“My manufacturers are in Mongolia. I hand-pick each piece of material over the computer during the covid year of 2020.”
“The business is still tough. I invested around £10,000 in founding the brand, and I’ve sold around 20 coats since March 2021, when my first collection was launched. The start-up capital was paid back by now. My clients included female buyers from Arabic countries, and a few friends of mine in London, who helped my business by buying my coats.”
“My parents didn’t support me at all. They wanted me to be a doctor after gaining a degree in Psychology from St. Andrews. They were almost fiery about my decision to be a fashion designer in London and reckoned that being a fashion designer is not a stable job. I founded my brand with my own savings.”
“I don’t regret my decision to step into the fashion industry. I am proud of myself for building up the brand on my own.” Says the 25-year-old entrepreneur.
“I didn’t start my business in my hometown, Budapest. I think London is the best place to start a fashion business. China isn’t the ideal place for business growth neither, although my parents are from the Mainland and I speak fluent Mandarin, I’m not familiar with the business methods in China.”
It seems there is still a long way for Sissi to fulfill her ambition of competing with Max Mara, the Italian fashion house and showing her “transparent, eco-friendly and ethical production, without compromising on quality or design” wool coats to the world.
London, one of the most distinctive global fashion capital in the world, sometimes can be challenging for new labels to survive. However, Sissi’s dream for fashion continues here.
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