Victoria Stapleton

May 19

Written By Tom Cronk

Victoria is Founder and Creative Director at fashion brand Brora which she set up in 1993.

Victoria saw a gap in the market for modern design with an interesting colour palette, taking traditional British materials (cashmere and tweed) and giving them a contemporary update.

Today Brora has become an all year round, head to toe fashion brand with its own specific aesthetic and style with a leaning to making locally where possible, following a slow fashion route and designing clothes to last much more than one season.

Everything is ethically made and sustainably sourced.

Here’s Victoria.

Please tell us what your role in the business is?

I suppose in a nutshell I am in charge of the look and feel of everything.

Colours, fabrics, patterns, prints, backdrops of shoots, photographers, stylists, models, shop fits, I am the taste police of Brora!

Where do you do most of your work?

In the past I have nearly always made it to my head office in Hertfordshire, 30 minutes from home, but the last year has changed all that and I can easily do a day from home.

However, I like the office environment, the exchange of ideas, the touch and feel of new samples and the buzz.

About once a week I pop to London to visit a store, meet a supplier, a journalist, that sort of thing. I visit the mill in Scotland where all our cashmere is made at least every 2 months but again that has suffered during the pandemic; hopefully we will be back on track from next season.

How many people do you work with closely on a day-to-day basis?

Most of my day-to-day work is with my design team of five and marketing & web team which is the same size.

Of course, there are also the graphic designers if I am working on the layout of a brochure or look book or a campaign for something special. And once a month I meet with the senior management team to discuss the previous month figures, achievements, highs and lows, plans for the future and we see where the conversation goes. We can go off on quite a tangent at times!

What is the biggest challenge that you face at work every day?

The changing habits of the customer, the weather, predicting which design is going to sell best… we have a large percentage of female staff so that can be interesting! But Johnny and I have five daughters and I have three sisters so nothing I haven’t seen before!

The last year has delivered a whole set of new challenges but my senior team have been with me for years and years and never let me down; we embrace a challenge with a calm head and a positive attitude – there is never much point in a panic.

Talk us through lunch. A sandwich at your desk or a full hour in the park?

Pretty random on this one – but usually a packed lunch which is something I find in the fridge that morning, in a rush it could well be an avocado but my husband who is most certainly the chef of our household usually has a nice pan of soup on the go or a tortilla full of leftovers.

I never take a break but, to be honest, never arrive much before 11am as I am not a morning person at all.

What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that you wish you’d known when you started your career?

I tend to be slap-dash, over enthusiastic and impulsive. I have signed some long-term shop rental agreements without enough research that have cost us dearly – we were fortunate that our lease in Covent Garden came to an end in March 2021, that was a very expensive experience!

I now rely on others to do the thorough investigations prior to decision making!

And one more: if an IT project says it will take 6 months always allow at least a year.

Email. Friend or foe?

Friend really. No excuses for lack of communication with the CC element. But they do come thick and fast which can quickly make them a foe.

Do you use a digital or paper To Do List? And how effective are you at getting everything done?

Always hand written, usually completed, somehow letter writing always goes to the bottom of the list but when I do write a letter I thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Do you leave work at a set time each day?

Late! Well, I get chucked out by the security team at 7pm so probably early for some!

How do you relax? Do you look after yourself properly?

I am a very good sleeper which I realise is super lucky, I have to set an alarm if I want to wake by 8.30am.

I swim daily six months of the year and love playing tennis and golf and hanging with our whippet Midge.

Then it’s dinner with my family. Plenty of good food and wine is a big part of the unwinding mechanism.

How confident are you about the future of your business?

We are now in our 29th year at Brora and, so far, we haven’t had a loss-making year. It has been very close at times, but we have held our head above water and owning the business 100% is a huge help. No pressure from outside shareholders to return a large dividend or constantly GROW.

Personally, I think it can be a mistake to think bigger is better. Small or in the case of Brora, medium, is beautiful and easier to manage for sure.

Also, much less scary. When the chips are down you can control the situation without too much difficulty. I know everyone in the business, can visit all the shops, really understand the day to day – my only slight worry is what age will I retire.

My children say never.

What is your secret time-wasting technique at your desk?

Nuisance calls to or from my children. Or the extended family Whatsapp group which if you miss it for a few hours takes quite some scrolling to catch up.