N E W B U S I N E S S MEG J GARDNER

Name of company: Meg J Gardner

Type of business: Bespoke and Couture Fashion Design Location: West Yorkshire

How long has the company been running?

The company has been running for a couple years now, from the release of their first collection Tempus 360 in 2021, the brand has grown from strength to strength with showcases during London Fashion Week, to gracing the front covers of magazines and more MJG have now released several collections, but Meg says Tempus still remains one of her favourites along side their most recent collection, Eleutheria, which is a couture bridal collection inspired by the historical and romantic muses of Shakespeare’s women.

Where did the idea come from?

During her placement year at university, Meg was given the opportunity to work alongside several companies, all over the country The experience was really valuable and taught her a lot in terms of how the industry works, but the main thing it revealed was how unethical the industry can be From overproduction to unpaid labour, it was really eye-opening to see that what’s presented to consumers isn’t an accurate representation of what happens behind the scenes, and Meg wants to change that She established Meg J Gardner to make a stand against fast fashion, by offering a more personal, sustainable and ethical approach to fashion, and has committed to creating high quality, slow fashion garments that are made with meticulous attention to detail and care Meg has gained a reputation for creating beautiful and elegant pieces, often featuring intricate artisan details such as hand beading and appliqué Her established and quintessential design style is becoming easily recognisable amongst the ever changing scene of fast fashion

Currently, how many people work for the business?

A very small but highly dedicated team Meg works with a variety of phenomenal creatives to try raise awareness for slow, sustainable and ethical fashion

What are your company values?

Ethical Slow Stylish Meg is focusing her attention on blazing a trail to re-establish fashion as timelessly elegant yet contemporarily modern, in a responsible way without sacrificing on style Combining intricately crafted textiles to sculpt beautifully original and unique styles and garments, Meg's work highlights slow fashion at its best - from her sustainable and circular design concepts to her “made-toorder” policy

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business?

Meg’s key piece of advice is to network There is a huge community of phenomenal creatives out there, and they have a lot of knowledge and advise to give so connect with those willing to share But remember to respect other creatives and more importantly respect their work and their craft; during her time in the industry, Meg has had people try abuse her work purely for their own good, so Meg emphasises ensuring all your networking is a two way street and that those you are working with are there for the right reasons When both sides benefit, that’s when the best and most meaningful connections are made, and those are the people who will support and encourage you to succeed with building your business.

Where do you hope the company will be in 5 years time? Wow! We have a lot going on behind the scenes both for our amazing clients, locally and nationally, as well as having a few exciting creative projects we’ve been invited to be a part of For now we can’t say too much about but you can keep up to date with our most recent work and collections on our Instagram account @meg j gardner design

Photographer: Isabel Boaden @isabelkatephoto

Fashion Designer: Meg J Gardner @meg.j.gardner.design