Drapers 30 Under 30: Award-winning Designer Bianca Saunders – Drapers
Fri 8 Sep
BY REBECCA JANE HILL
Kicking off this series is designer Bianca Saunders, who aside from recently being nominated for the New Establishment Menswear award by the British Fashion Council (BFC) this year, has doubled her brand’s global stockists from 20 to 40, grown the size of her team and created custom looks for singer Usher at this year’s Met Gala.
Bianca Saunders, class of 2021, age 30
What has changed for you and the Bianca Saunders brand, since 2021?
I went on to win the ANDAM prize [a French fashion award established in 1989] in that same year. Since then I’ve shown in Paris [at fashion week] four times, and dressed a number of celebrities from Harry Styles to Lewis Hamilton, which I’m very proud of. I’ve been able to grow the team from two to 10 people, as well as expand our stockists from under 20 stores, to 40 worldwide [including Selfridges, Browns, and Machine-A in the UK, with retail prices ranging from £155 for a cotton vest to £1950 for a leather jacket]. And then of course, doing the 2023 Met Gala was amazing—that’s been the biggest cherry on top of it all.
How does it feel to reflect on so much growth in just two years?
There’s a lot more that I want to achieve, but now that I’m 30, I’m realising that I was really doing a lot for someone so young. I wish I had appreciated it more at the time. I have no regrets, but I was very focused on what was next. Now, I’m taking the time to think about what’s really important for me and what’s important for the brand.
You collaborated with Farah for the second time on your SS23 collection. How has the relationship evolved?
It’s been quite incredible because they’ve got such an extensive archive. I liked the idea of using that and transforming it into something that’s familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time. They’re a really supportive company and it just made sense to do another collaboration, as the first time we did it was coming out of the pandemic.