How Monty & Co. founder, Leigh Montague, leapt out of the fast fashion lane.

By Hazel Davis

When Leigh Montague returned from maternity leave to her role as Senior Menswear Designer for M&S, the world had changed. She loved her job but says, “This was back in 2004 and fast fashion had just escalated while I was away.”

Supermarkets had upped their offering and “the power of Primark” had kicked in. “It felt like everyone was going after speed instead of quality. I’d made all these amazing contacts with mills and it was a fantastic job but as a designer, it felt like I was going backwards and I was doing things I didn’t want to put my name to.”

Moreover, she says, it didn’t coincide well with motherhood: “I decided my values had changed. “The gender division in clothing wasn’t something I’d particularly noticed before but I was so shocked,” she says, “I started getting real nostalgia for what I had as a (proper 80s) child. I grew up in dungarees and corduroy trousers and I was finding it a real struggle to find hard-wearing fabric in plain, classic designs that could be passed down.”

“I grew up in dungarees and corduroy trousers and I was finding it a real struggle to find hard-wearing fabric in plain, classic designs that could be passed down.”

Montague remembered the brands she wore as a child – Adams and Ladybird – ”All made on a huge scale and all in Britain”. She was also drawn to heritage and feeling increasingly desperate about the clothing industry heading overseas. Monty & Co was born to create traditional and unisex “workwear” for designed for childhood. You’ll find items such as the Porter, classic bib-and-brace dungaree inspired by the workwear of London dockland porters, and the engineer – a boiler suit inspired by Montague’s father and grandfather’s RAF flight suits. The vibe is hard-wearing and no-nonsense and you suspect could withstand a week in a field without washing.

Everything is sourced from the UK wherever possible: “The only things that aren’t are trimmings and metalware. From a safety aspect, it’s really important that it’s nickel-free and safe.” For this, Montague uses someone she worked with at M&S in China – ”I’ve been to the factory and I’ve made sure it’s the best.” Everything else is made in the factory in Great Yarmouth. She also ensures there’s full transparency in all the processes. “There’s an honesty to our brand that I have always strived for.” The business started in West London but when Montague and her family moved to the Cotswolds, the company made a concerted effort to get involved in the local area, launching a Kickstarter scheme to get a young person on board and working with local creatives on photography and branding. “Where we live in Stroud there’s a really strong buy-local ethos,” says Montague, “we think it’s a great place to grow our business. Also, Stroud had the first steam-powered sewing machine!”

Like all the best businesses, Monty & Co was started to solve a problem, not to make a fortune. “I never wanted to run my own business,” Montague laughs, “but I had this strong feeling that here was something I could provide a solution for. Not that there’s anything wrong with making money, but that wasn’t the reason for starting the brand. It was to make nice clothes.”

One of the biggest criticisms levied at aspirational clothing companies is cost but, says Montague, the fact is that to do this properly costs money. “I wanted my prices to be more reasonable when they started,” she admits, “but it’s harder than it looks.” She adds, “Price is a massive barrier to entry. People can so quickly go on Alibaba or contact a full-service factory.” However, Montague says there’s been no shortage of people willing to pay for her clothes. “The quality speaks for itself,” she says, “A lot of customers are buying clothes and passing them on. They have real resale value.”

“Like all the best businesses, Monty & Co was started to solve a problem, not to make a fortune.”

And, she says, consumers’ mindsets are changing. “Four years ago I wouldn’t have thought people would be interested in a take-back scheme but they are. Covid has started to make people question where they are buying things from and really thinking about what they need.”

In fact, at the start of the pandemic, Monty & Co had an incredibly busy few months: “I was very lucky that the factory managed to get production out before it closed and we had good stocks,” she says, “in fact it was an exciting time for sales and growth.” It was also an exciting time in terms of family growth as she and her husband welcomed a second child earlier this year. Recently her husband has joined the company to help with branding and marketing while Montague concentrates on product and design. “There’s really only so much I can achieve as a one-man band,” she says.

For Montague, the business is not only a way to provide her growing family with decent clothes and to satisfy her creative ambitions, but it’s also been a journey of discovery into the UK’s remaining textile industry. “I’ve been making lots of inroads into UK material suppliers. The British textile industry is very wool heavy, which is amazing for tailoring but doesn’t always translate into childrenswear. I’m already looking at ways to modernise that fabric and make it accessible and informal.”

The company is also launching a repair service. This might seem risky in a modern fast market but, says Montague, “I’ve had three returns in the whole time I’ve had the business. It really is about making the best product I can rather than making more.”

Whatever Montague does next, the ethos will remain the same: “As a consumer I get fed up with constant new lines and launches. And as a business I want to offer something that stands up in terms of quality and originality.”

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