It all started with a rainbow.
That may not come as a surprise if you look at the Wyse collection now, but when I started the brand five years ago, cashmere was mostly conservative, classic – and, dare I say it, lacking in joy. Back then, I was hunting for knitwear for myself, but couldn’t find anything that felt truly special and unusual, that I actually wanted to wear.
Then one day I passed a woman in the street who had on a plain jumper with a tiny little rainbow embroidered on one side. That rainbow ignited something inside me, and I wondered, “what if the rainbow went all the way across the front?”
I wasn’t a fashion designer, but I’ve always had a passion for clothes and a creative instinct. At a time when the industry was either exclusively high-end or mass-market highstreet, I saw an opportunity. I sketched the rainbow jumper and four other designs on a piece of paper and a friend gave me a number for a factory who could make them for me. I took those five sweaters to a house party and the women there loved them. Six months later, I did my first pop-up to sell my sweaters and it was a roaring success.
Each time I sold out of stock, I invested the money back into the business, listening to what my customers wanted, designing new pieces and growing my brand organically. Women have always been at the heart of Wyse - customer feedback, then and now, is the secret of my success. I’ve realised that there are lots of women out there like me - who want something elevated and luxurious but also unexpected and a bit fabulous. That’s the thing about Wyse, it’s not about being a certain age or looking a certain way – it’s an ethos and a sense of joie de vivre. I see women of all shapes and sizes, aged from 18 to 80, wearing my clothes and they all look incredible.
From a handful of cashmere sweaters to a collection which includes sequin skirts, denim and of course an array of joy-giving knitwear, Wyse is ever-growing and expanding. Being half French, half British, my design approach is always less is more, but with a twist. I constantly find myself torn between elegance and quirkiness. My French side yearns for simplicity and elegance, but my British side craves the unexpected. That’s why every piece of luxury clothing I design has a detail, be it a lurex thread, sequins, florals, leather or a pop of colour! I want it to be the item that makes people take a second look, when you pass them in the street.
It’s that little tiny rainbow, over and over again.
If you have any enquiries regarding stock, other colour choices or general questions, please call 0208 740 4324 or email enquiries@wyselondon.com
For press enquiries please contact:
Phoebe Speck via email phoebe.speck@wyselondon.com
Marielle x