For more than a decade, I was known publicly as The Sustainable Stylist. Journalists called when they needed ethical commentary, brands approached me about sustainability, and much of my work centred around Ethical Brand Directory and the wider sustainable fashion industry. It is a significant part of my career, but it is not the whole story.
My fascination with clothing and identity started much earlier. In performing arts, I used clothing, hair and make-up to get into character and change my stage presence. Later, working in corporate communications, I understood that people were forming an impression of me before I had a chance to say a word. I always knew clothes could influence how we feel, how we are seen and how we show up.
From fashion to sustainable fashion
I’ve always loved clothes. I was also buying too much, and I had started to question my own relationship with fashion and consumption. My wardrobe was overflowing yet I continued to shop… I started to question why.
When I left the corporate world and started building my own business, I began meeting women launching ethical fashion brands. I became fascinated by production, materials and supply chains, and then watching The True Cost led me to take what I thought would be a 12-month shopping detox. It lasted two and a half years – and it taught me more about myself than I ever anticipated.
Working with what I already owned made me much more aware of quality, material and longevity. I could really tell the difference between the things I’d bought on a whim from the high street and the pieces I’d saved for and invested in.
I also became much more aware of how easily trends can influence what we buy. I started to notice the difference between looking good, making cute outfits, being good at shopping and how that was totally different to having great style.
Ethical Brand Directory
I created Ethical Brand Directory because I wanted my styling clients to be able to find beautiful clothing from brands that aligned with their values. EBD grew considerably, and I spent years researching brands, materials, production and supply chains, while also speaking publicly about sustainable fashion and working across the industry.
I enjoyed that work, and I’m proud of what I contributed to the space. It gave me a much more informed understanding of quality, craftsmanship, values and longevity, and it changed the questions I asked when looking at clothes.
When I noticed the disconnect
About five years into my work, I started to notice a growing disconnect between different parts of my ecosystem. My private clients were connecting with me on a very personal level. They cared about beautiful clothes, quality and individuality, but they were less interested in loud activism and more interested in quiet alignment. They wanted their choices to reflect what mattered to them, and they had the means to invest in things that were genuinely worth having.
At the same time, my online presence had become much more closely associated with the wider sustainable fashion community and its louder activism. I enjoyed contributing to that space, but eventually I had to take a long, hard look at myself and recognise that I had started to reflect the broader online community more than my own sense of identity.
Sustainable luxury
My clients weren’t necessarily interested in the most recognisable luxury labels. They wanted beautiful things, made well, that felt right for them. I’d spent years learning about production, materials, sustainability and the fashion industry. My clients were making me look at those things alongside quality, craftsmanship, provenance, longevity and individuality, and think more carefully about what was actually worth investing in.
For me, the ethical and sustainability considerations are part of the baseline. They are simply part of how I look at clothing. What matters beyond that is the quality of the material, the craftsmanship, the provenance, the longevity and the fact that you genuinely want to wear it.
As access to luxury has changed, so has the way we think about luxury. I also don’t believe sustainability works as a simple scorecard. There are real-world choices, contradictions and grey areas, and discernment matters.
Style, identity and my work today
The relationship between clothing and identity has always been part of my work. My performing arts background, corporate career, coaching and years working in sustainable fashion have all shaped how I think about clothing, confidence and presence.
When I start work with a new client, I don’t start with clothes – I start with context; who you are now, how your life operates, and what you need your wardrobe to support. You may already have beautiful clothes. You may have invested well, built a successful career or developed a strong sense of self, and still find yourself standing in front of your wardrobe feeling disconnected.
That is part of the thinking behind the Style Identity Gap. Your wardrobe does not exist in isolation. We look at identity, proportion, colour, lifestyle and longevity together.
Today, I work as a London-based Style & Identity Expert and Personal Stylist, bringing together my experience in performing arts, corporate communications, styling, more than a decade working in sustainable fashion, and my work as a certified coach. I look at quality, materials, craftsmanship, provenance and longevity, but I am also looking at the woman, the life, the message and the wardrobe together. The Ethical Brand Directory is still online and is entering a new chapter in 2026.
