Hand crafted in a small British atelier, La Fixé is a conscious slow fashion brand creating simple, buildable, forever pieces. Founded by Canterbury-based Nicole Smith, 35, designs are inspired by the exacting taste and everlasting style of European women who walk, work and live life in these cities of everyday romance. Here she talks breaking rules and timeless fashion...

“I worked in the fashion industry for 13 years before I eventually opened a contemporary bridal boutique in 2015,” Nicole recalls, when asked how La Fixe came to be.

“We specialised in modern contemporary bridal wear and had been styling and fitting women of all shapes and sizes for seven years. It became apparent when chatting to women in the fitting rooms that society places too many unspoken rules on women. ‘Too old for this’ or ‘too small for that’ or ‘too big for those’. Who made those rules I wondered?

“I knew I wanted to create a collection that was designed with this in mind and essentially at this point La Fixe was created.

“Adjustable spaghetti straps, tie up bottoms, and oversized shirts in luxury breathable fabrics feature in the collection.

“It was important La Fixe created timeless pieces. We know people want to buy less and buy better. We work with small independent mills in Europe and production happens here right in the UK and it is because of our ethical and sustainable production practices we were able to become a stockist on Wolf and Badger. We then started to sell a lot of our items to US customers which was unexpected but exciting.”

What inspired and continues to inspire the brands design aesthetic?

“La Fixe is heavily influenced by the exacting taste and everlasting style of European women and the cities and streets they walk in,” Nicole reflects.

“I love styles of the 80s and 90s from big French fashion houses and I’m inspired by them when creating our occasion wear, but then mix things up by adding some Scandinavian style contemporary tailoring to the mix.

“La Fixe creates effortlessly stylish and uncomplicated luxury pieces designed to be loved and lived in, in a thousand different ways. It’s everyday romanticism for everyday realists, cottons in the kitchen, silks to the shops and tailoring on the train. We do everyday luxury with interchangeable pieces all in one collection.”

She must have faced a fair few challenges when founding the brand?

“We started sampling pieces in 2020 and I guess our biggest hurdle was localised lockdowns and my wonderful studio staff catching Covid,” she explains.

“Luckily everyone was OK, but we just experienced a lot of delays. Today the big challenge is global politics impacting global finances. Producing in the UK is great, but this does mean it is costing us a lot more now than it did.”

Does she get a buzz out of seeing people wearing La Fixe?

“I genuinely am grateful for every customer,” she smiles.

“Every customer who purchases a piece on our website is endorsing us and investing in the brand and I am humbled by it, especially as we are so new with little brand equity. As for wearing the brand, I have friends who work in for luxury brands and it is great to see them wearing an item from La Fixe without being asked to by me! It’s a compliment because that person decided that day they felt good in La Fixe.”

Is there one essential piece of La Fixe that everyone should have in their wardrobe?

“The Annie Organic Cotton shirt,” Nicole affirms. “The fit and fabric is great and it washes really well! It is such a versatile item, and everyone needs a classic white shirt. You can wear them for any occasion.”

What can we expect in 2023 from La Fixe?

“I don’t tend to focus on seasons,” says Nicole.

“The brand has a good base collection and then I look to build upon that in future drops. This year I will be looking to bring out some new colourways in some of our best sellers and develop the silk selection we have. We have been working on bags and belts since 2021 and I would love to have those ready by Autumn 23, but I tend not to put pressure on myself as it is more important they are right for La Fixe.

“However, we are currently working on the new silk pieces which I already love. Lots of draping detail…”

How does she see La Fixe evolving?

“La Fixe is a luxury lifestyle brand,” Nicole states. “At the moment we produce luxury basics with sustainable and ethical practices at the heart and it is important for us to focus on this and to not lose sight of who we are but as the brand grows I would love to add more lifestyle pieces online and collaborate with other likeminded brands to do this.”

lafixe.com