Celebrating female founders, creativity, and the power of friendship.
At Florere, we’re passionate about celebrating fellow creatives and women doing amazing things, and today we’re shining the spotlight on the dynamic duo Belle & Bunty.
Like us, they’re best friends who met at University, and have been on an incredible journey together ever since. From supporting Florere since day one, to championing emerging designers, as well as absolutely smashing the twinning game, they’re true content queens and creative forces.
Starting a brand is no easy feat. What did your business idea start as, and how has it evolved over the years?
We launched Belle & Bunty in 2003 as a Ready-To-Wear label, showcasing our collections at London Fashion Week and wholesaling to various boutiques and department stores. Every six months, we would travel to India to oversee the manufacturing of our hand-printed textile designs on silk into garments, each print originally drawn by us.
In 2008, we expanded into Bridalwear and began making our wedding dresses in a London-based workshop, after we both got married within 6 months of each other, and designed our own wedding dresses together. As the bridal side of the business grew, we decided to focus more of our energy there. A big reason for this shift was that it better suited our individual family lives - being able to design, sell, and produce locally allowed us to balance motherhood and business in a way that worked for us.
Around that time, our PR manager suggested we start sharing our everyday outfits on a new platform called Instagram. We thought, “this will never take off”, but we couldn’t have been more wrong.
You’ve evolved your brand so beautifully, from fashion design to becoming the queens of twinning, digital content, and style influencing. How did that transition happen?
It happened slowly and organically - there was never a set plan to become ‘content creators’. It all grew from our genuine love of fashion and a playful approach to dressing. The transition felt completely natural, blending our passion for style with a new way to express our creativity.
Like us at Florere, you’ve worn many hats - designers, founders, creatives, and content creators. What’s been your most exciting moment as female founders? And the most challenging?
Hannah: Our first Vogue feature was a real pinch-me moment. We were absolutely over the moon, as you can imagine - it’s framed in our studio.
The most challenging part of running a business is definitely learning how to manage your ever-growing to-do list. Accepting that it never truly ends, and developing the ability to prioritise and triage, is such an important skill. Easier said than done though!
Alice: Opening our boutique was a huge milestone for us. Before that, our pieces were stocked in other boutiques and department stores, and while we were incredibly grateful for our stockists, having our own space to tell our story was really liberating. It breathed new life into our label and gave us a real sense of achievement and freedom.
We are designers at heart - we studied art and trained in Fashion Design and Textiles at the London College of Fashion, so while the admin side of running a business can be overwhelming, carving out time for creativity is key. This is where our recent printed scarf collection was born. It was so lovely to return to our roots, hand painting the designs, bringing our passion and artistry directly into the pieces.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Hannah: I really enjoy photography and recently discovered my old digital camera in my parents attic. I’ve been taking it out and about on shoots and getting some great shots with the ol’gal.
Alice: I’ve rediscovered my love of painting. I find it so therapeutic and love splashing colour about in my kitchen on the weekend.
Your twinning looks are always so effortless, joyful, and inspiring! How do you go about putting them together?
We start with a colour or an item of clothing and build a look from there. Over the years we have really honed our style and know what works for our body shapes and colouring. We like a similar aesthetics but often have a different approach to styling a piece which keeps our different personalities distinct within the brand.
You’ve been such amazing supporters of small, female-led brands (ourselves included, thank you!). What draws you to a brand or designer?
Hannah: I love scouring the internet for new designers and trends, and seeing what products other content creators are wearing and new ways of styling. Instagram is such an exciting way to discover new brands and unique pieces.
Alice: For me, it’s all about the product and the story behind the brand. I’m drawn to designs that are thoughtfully made, with a clear sense of purpose and creativity. I like to know who is behind the creativity and definitely have more loyalty to the brand if I engage with that person.
Looking back at the Belle & Bunty journey, what are you most proud of as female founders? And finally, what’s next on the horizon?
We started Belle & Bunty in 2003 and showed at London Fashion Week that year. Since then, we’ve worn so many different hats - designing collections, managing production, producing shows, running our boutique, and doing our own PR and social media - we’ve had to be really adaptable and gain so many different skills over the years.
What we’re most proud of, and truly grateful for, is that in such a notoriously tough and competitive industry, we’ve survived, and try to keep a positive outlook. That positivity has allowed us to really enjoy the ride and appreciate every part of the journey.
As for what’s next, we’ve written a downloadable Style Guide that’s already available on our website. We are hoping to (fingers crossed) get it published! As well as more printed silk scarves!
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