RIXO’s story began in 2015 in the London living room of best friends, Henrietta Rix & Orlagh McCloskey.
World renown for their hand painted prints and unique styling, RIXO has become a must have for the modern woman who wants vintage inspired one-off pieces to wear with confidence, on multiple occasions for multiple uses, to feel the best version of herself.
Here at Maman we are continually inspired by the family philosophy of RIXO. To this day the business remains entirely family run with small suppliers who are very close to the girls, both personally and professionally. No piece is mass produced and they know where each garment comes from, who makes them and how they are crafted.
How did RIXO come about?
We met at University when we were both studying Fashion Management at London College of Fashion. We became best friends after finding out about our shared love of vintage. We scour charity shops and vintage fairs together all over London and parts of the UK hunting for vintage. Whenever we plan to go anywhere abroad, whether it’s for holiday or work, the first thing we do is look up where the local vintage shops and flea markets are. We get so much inspiration from different cultures and countries we visit.
RIXO, is a combination of both of our names - ’RIX’ is from my surname and the ’O’ is from Orlagh’s name. We had the initial idea after working on a university project together, as we felt there was a gap in the market for flattering vintage inspired pieces at a contemporary price point. There just wasn’t anything like RIXO out there! We launched the brand from the living room of our university home in September 2015. It was a big risk; as we quit our jobs, invested all of our own money and spent our first year or so doing absolutely everything ourselves, but we haven’t looked back. There was no plan B!
Tell us about the RIXO brand identity.
Vintage-inspired, ultra-feminine shapes with a modern and contemporary twist. We want women to feel confident when they wear our pieces and know that each item is special. Our identity is our hand-painted prints – they’re completely unique and no one else does them at the same price point and quality.
Describe the brand in three words?
Confident, fun, feminine.
What's the inspiration behind the print designs and what is the design process?
We gather inspiration for the collection from everywhere – whether it’s the printed lining of a vintage jacket, old botanical books, or the shapes and colours we see at flea markets, into a mood-board that guides us when we paint the print elements. It’s a very organic creative process that, although time consuming, it is the part we enjoy the most, and makes the pieces so special. We then scan and clean up the prints on Photoshop and create CADs - where the collection really comes to life!
How do you think vintage fashion influences designers today?
Fashion works in a big cycle – we think, in order to find inspiration for future collections, it’s imperative to look to the past and see how we can elevate it, designing according to the present day needs of customers. Fashion archives and the 60s and 70s are endless sources of inspiration for us - we believe it’s important to be aware of cultural decades that have shaped the fashion industry today.
Do you have a style muse or is there a RIXO woman you have in mind when designing?
We don’t design with one woman in mind as RIXO London is such an accessible brand – from young professional women wearing it to work followed by drinks with friends, to women in their 70s loving the nostalgic shapes and prints! Girls like Sienna Miller, Leandra Medine and the Olsen twins have such individual style that exude confidence, and that’s what we want a woman to feel like when she wears RIXO.
How would you describe the #HumansofRixo, and how important is it for you to see your girls on Instagram or out and about in your dresses?
We created the #HumansOfRIXO hashtag as a way for our customers to show us how they wear RIXO. It’s really helped us gain a global audience and showcase women from all ages, sizes, shapes and countries wearing RIXO in their own way. It’s always great to see influencers and celebrities wearing RIXO, but it’s equally if not more satisfying seeing one of our customers wearing the brand and seeing how they have styled it. I don’t think that we’d ever not be over the moon to see that!
As much as we repost celebrity or influencer posts, we also love reposting images of our amazing customers in our pieces to give others ideas of how to wear. Our #HumansOfRIXO could be a young professional in her twenties, her mother and equally her grandmother. We really believe that a woman’s style is eternal no matter her age! RIXO is made for all women regardless of age, shape, nationality… Our #HumansofRIXO don’t follow fashion trends. They want to invest in easy-to-wear, flattering and original pieces that will stand the test of time and fit seamlessly into their lifestyle. They want to feel great in their piece and know that they can count on it time and time again!
