Shoppers hunting for late bargains in the January sales should look at the “archive” section of Rixo’s website, where the women’s fashion brand sells older stock at a substantial discount. From February 1, it will disappear ... for ever.
Rixo’s founders, Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey, say they have killed the discounts as they would like a more sustainable approach to clothes shopping. “We don’t want to encourage people to buy for the sake of buying,” said Rix, 31. “If you’re driven by the fact it’s 50 per cent off … it may not be right for you.”
The decision to sell only at full price may also bolster the firm’s profits, which in the 12 months to June 2021, stood at £3.5 million on sales of £10.3 million. In the same year, Rixo — whose designs have been worn by the Princess of Wales and celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Kylie Minogue and Margot Robbie — moved to a new head office in Hammersmith, west London, where it employs a team of 85.
The move was a coming of age for the firm, launched in the living room of McCloskey and Rix’s west London flat in February 2015. The pair had met when they were studying fashion management at the London College of Fashion (LCF), and recognised they were kindred spirits.
“I remember Orlagh coming into one of our first lectures and she had this gorgeous vintage brown bag,” Rix recalled. “We sat in the same row, then we went on a trip to Paris before working on a project together. Our tutor said to us, ‘You two work really well together — maybe you should think about doing something together.’”
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Both Rix and McCloskey hail from entrepreneurial families. Rix’s father, Reg, started a second-hand car dealership in Cheshire in 1996, which he still runs alongside two of her brothers. Her two older brothers also have their own firm, CarFinance247.
McCloskey’s father ran his own business in the construction industry in Northern Ireland, but she knew her calling was in the creative industries. “I was always very artistic and I used to cut every single piece of cloth — even my school uniform was altered,” said McCloskey, 33.
The friends had the chance to learn more about the fashion industry with work placements as buyers’ assistants in their penultimate year at LCF — Rix at Asos and McCloskey at TK Maxx. The experience was crucial when they started their own company, said Rix.
“It was pretty intense being at the bottom of the pecking order, and we’d be there until 11 or 12 o’clock at night — but I loved it. I learnt a lot … also about what I wouldn’t want Rixo to be like. They had so many suppliers: 60 or 70 just for day dresses.”
It made her and McCloskey determined to be more streamlined in their own sourcing. Their main supplier, which had a family office in the UK and its factory in China, was a contact that McCloskey had made during her TK Maxx placement.
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It was during their final year of studies that they started hatching a plan for Rixo, after spotting a gap in the market for vintage-inspired womenswear with a price tag of £200 to £300.
They persuaded fashion designer Richard Quinn to create their first prints, but when he was too busy, they hand-painted them themselves, despite having no prior experience. “We didn’t know what we were doing, but it ended up being serendipitous because it made us figure it out for ourselves,” said McCloskey.
She and Rix each put £2,000 into a joint bank account, which paid for a laptop each and a camera. Fittings were done on McCloskey’s twin sister. Gemma, samples were modelled by friends for early shoots, and the supplier she had met came on board on 60-day payment terms.
Each collection sold out, with demand for Rixo’s prints particularly high, and they were able to place larger orders. But as the business grew, it took up an increasing amount of space in their flat. Rix recalled: “We were ringing our landlord and saying, ‘Can you remove the kitchen table? Can you remove the sofa?’ He needed to take all the furniture out so we could fit all the Rixo rails, mood boards and [stock].” They didn’t take an office for two and a half years, to keep overheads low.
As well as selling direct to customers through their site, the entrepreneurs targeted wholesalers. Rix spent hours trawling social media to track down buyers — “to try to get in front of them face to face and show them the product”. Net-a-Porter was a key early listing in February 2016, followed by Selfridges, Harrods and Liberty.
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Hard graft took the place of networking and schmoozing at glitzy fashion parties. Rix said neither she nor McCloskey were attracted to working the fashion circuit. “After two or three years, we started to get invited to all these parties and we were not interested. We just wanted to work on Rixo and keep ourselves to ourselves.”
They did, however, emerge from the start-up bubble to meet stylists. This led to their designs being worn by famous women in the UK — Rixo’s largest market, accounting for 70 per cent of turnover — and the US.
“We had Instagram from the get-go and I’d be on it until four in the morning looking for the cool girls we could reach out to,” said Rix.
The firm now has three central London shops and is opening a 5,000 sq ft flagship store on Chelsea’s King’s Road in April. “It’s a big investment for us and we’re really excited for it to launch,” said McCloskey. The store will feature Rixo designs, including its bridal range and accessories, as well as a coffee shop. “We want people to ... immerse themselves in the brand,” added Rix.
Asked for advice for entrepreneurs, Rix, who is married and has a ten-month-old baby, said to “find something you’re passionate about — because when you’re going through the tough times, it means you’re not willing to give in”.
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McCloskey, who lives in London with her husband, agreed that resilience is key. “People can give up quite easily if something doesn’t go right, but actually it’s a long game to play. You’ve just got to keep going.”
