Wide-Eyed and Blind: Meeting the Designers Behind Cult Fashion Brand RIXO London At Brown Thomas

RIXO London is a young brand that has managed to already develop a fevered following and seems to have a knack for quickly capturing new fans with a single garment. So much so, in fact, that when Irish stylist Courtney Smith posted a photograph of herself wearing one of their dresses on Instagram it almost instantaneously sold out.

That was my personal introduction to the brand and I recall thinking that it was a beautiful dress but not something that suited tomboyish types like myself. I thought, "I sometimes wish I was that girl." But it turns out I was wrong. I am that girl, if I want to be, because RIXO have the everywoman in mind. They are all about creating cool, vintage-inspired clothes that flatter and work for all sorts of different women. Garments can be worn different ways and combined with other pieces in your wardrobe to make them very much your own; a wrap dress, for example, can be worn solo with daring slits, or open as a wafting robe, or over jeans for a cool layered look. RIXO's woman is not one single target demographic but, rather, all sorts of gals of different ages, shapes and lifestyles. While you will see the brand touted by the coolest It Girls of Instagram, they, alone, are not the only ones who can enjoy the brand.

RIXO was founded in 2015 by London College of Fashion alumni Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McClosky who, at the time, were buyers for ASOS. The two met while they were in college and quickly bonded over a shared love of vintage clothing. They found themselves spending most weekends together, trawling through vintage sales around the UK and unearthing gems. Others professed a love for their finds and they began reselling clothes online. When they found customers despairing that everything was a once-off and gone when it was gone, they got the idea to start their own vintage-inspired label.

Since its beginnings two years ago, the brand has seen a meteoric rise and is now stocked in Net-a-Porter and many boutiques around the world, including our very own Brown Thomas; which is where I got to see them discuss their label, its origins, rise and motivations, a couple of weeks ago. Irish-born McClosky, in particular, professed to have been touched to see her own clothes stocked in the Irish fashion powerhouse and informed us that they even made a limited print that is only available in BT.

A love of pattern is key to the brand and the two designers often create their own prints, reimagining their popular silhouettes - including the Moss Blouse, Camellia Dress & Orlagh Blouse - season after season by reproducing them in different prints. Another core value that they stressed is the use of high-quality fabrics and the wonderful construction of the clothes. While these are not actually vintage pieces, they are made to ape the quality of old: they are made to last. And though the price point is a good deal higher than your standard high street pieces, it is not unattainable, providing investment pieces that will never truly go out of style. The pair really do consider how women dress and shop and how to make pieces that will be true assets to a wardrobe.

It's hard to balance cool, sexy and timeless in a brand but, somehow, RIXO are doing it and doing it well. I'm pretty excited about their attitudes to design and consumption and the garments themselves and really can't wait to see what they do next. And it really seems that the sky's the limit with further forays into accessories already in the pipeline.

Thanks to Irish Tatler for the wonderful morning of lovely clothes and people x