Radical Yes

Radical Yes make practical footwear for modern women. Radical Yes work towards creating a brand and product that is conscious and considered of everything we do throughout all their processes. They believe and follow the mantra of conscious product, conscious manufacturing and conscious retail.

[T] Your shoes are created to ‘liberate and empower women’. That’s quite a huge weight on shoes. How do you go about doing that?

[R] At Radical Yes we believe to do your best work, you need to be coming at the world from a place of feeling grounded, centred and in control. We believe our flat shoes help do this by allowing you the freedom to move gracefully through modern life. We also believe we make shoes for women who dress for themselves - independent free thinkers. We like to call it Flat Shoe Liberation.

[T] Why Radical Yes? What inspired you to begin your journey?

[R] The ‘radical’ came from the desire to do something different to the mainstream fashion industry we had worked in. From the way we originally built our collection around one last (the shape that is the foundation of the shoe), to only making flat shoes, to making online our main channel. The ‘yes’ is an homage to my mum, who was an eternally positive and strong woman who instilled in me the desire to question things and the belief that women can achieve anything they want. I started the brand when I had taken a year away from working in fashion to complete my yoga teacher training. Then when I was teaching yoga I couldn’t find a shoe that I could throw in my bag to wear from yoga, to the gallery, to the shops, to pick up kids...without them being ‘running shoes’.

I felt there must be other women out there who wanted a flat shoe that also looked sharp while feeling casual. It turns out there was!

[T] Being a small business competing with big players, what sets you apart from everyone else? What do you believe your distinguishing feature to be?

[R] I think our independence and our point of view helps set us apart and our one - on - one personal relationship with our customers. I will often sit down and ring a handful of our customers personally to talk through what they want, what they love and even what they may not like about our products. This is an important part of our design and marketing process. As a small business we also believe we can be more nimble, innovative and fluid than bigger businesses.

[T] As seasons change so does our wardrobe choices. What ensures that your products remain multi-seasonal?

[R] Because our products are designed with function in mind, we see a lot of them as ‘classic’ wardrobe staples. Slip ons, trainers, ballets, slides etc. All styles that can often transcend trends - but can also stay on trend through our use of materials, colour palettes and variation in shape.

[T] Starting a business is always a gamble; we’ve seen so many become uninspired because of the challenges. What do you do to guarantee you stay on top?

[R] There are no guarantees. Some days are great and some days are really challenging. A long time ago I decided to treat the business as a part of a wider spiritual practice I have, and use it as a kind of test of resilience. And often I think of it in terms of it being ‘my challenge’, my task to solve and an exercise in resolve to never give up. On the more challenging days I lean heavily on my Yoga and meditation practice and always just remind myself of the impermanent and fleeting nature of everything. I also try and remind myself that when things are great, it’s important not to hang onto and attach myself wholly to those positive feelings; impermanence and non-attachment are my guiding principals and probably the reason we are still here 5 years on.

[T] What advice would you give anyone trying to start a small business in the fashion industry - seeing as there’s such an array amount of competition!

[R] Know your customer - call them personally if you have to. Give them so much love because they have come to you for a product and service that can become a big part of their wardrobe (and in turn their daily life). Beyond that you also have to know your own why. It’s harder to figure out than you think, but once you nail your own purpose everything else will fall into place behind it. Do the work there, find your voice and be consistent with it (never give up), and eventually you will find a unique light to share with the industry. It really is a marathon, not a sprint. Hasten slowly.