Polly McMaster is the co-founder and CEO of womenswear brand The Fold. When she was working in a male dominated environment, she noticed that all the men around her were immaculately dressed in perfectly tailored suits, yet she herself struggled to find equivalent options for women, there wasn’t the same high quality and elegantly tailored offering. The idea of The Fold came to her when she went to business school to do an MBA, during discussions with her female peers she realised that many of them like her, had faced problems when it came to finding appropriate workwear. After graduating from her MBA in 2011 she started her business.
“... she noticed that all the men around her were immaculately dressed in perfectly tailored suits, yet she herself struggled to find equivalent options for women, there wasn’t the same high quality and elegantly tailored offering.”
The Fold has been one of my favourite workwear brands for years. I discovered it in 2015 and have been obsessed with it ever since. What makes this brand so incredible is that Polly really understands the professional woman’s needs and has created stylish and empowering pieces which are also practical; there are jersey dresses which are great for business travel, there are styles which work for many different body types and there is a colour palette which varies from elegant to bold. For many years I struggled to find suitable work clothes in this largely underserved market, there were either options which were stylish but not quite business appropriate or those which had unflattering, boxy tailoring. Almost half of my work wardrobe are pieces from The Fold and it’s because Polly and her team have captured exactly what we needed, effortless and chic clothing which are business appropriate.
“... there are jersey dresses which are great for business travel, there are styles which work for many different body types and there is a colour palette which varies from elegant to bold.”
I admired Polly before I met her because of her accomplishments with The Fold and because I simply love her brand and her vision. Meeting her in person she is even more impressive because Polly is an authentic leader and passionate about supporting women. We couldn’t meet up in person due to Covid-19 restrictions so instead we had a catch-up over the phone to discuss how her business has evolved over the years and in these unprecedented times.
During your MBA how did you weigh up the idea of starting your own business versus going back to private equity?
When I started the MBA I was really open minded, and just wanted to get the most out of the opportunity of not working day to day with very long hours and pressure. That gives you headspace to think about what you are good at and where your passions lie. I found the strategy, entrepreneurship and other commercial courses really enjoyable and knew from my time in consulting and private equity that this was also a stronger area for me than pure finance.
“If I hadn’t found a business idea that I truly believed was compelling, I wouldn’t have gone for it.”
The idea for The Fold was the thing that was the most convincing though. If I hadn’t found a business idea that I truly believed was compelling, I wouldn’t have gone for it. I’ve reflected a lot on that decision over the years and although I would consider myself quite risk averse, I felt more comfortable making this leap from business school as I was already not working, and we put a huge amount of work in to prove the market and opportunity before committing to it. I also thought if I went back into my previous job, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to leave and make the leap – so it was a case of now or never!
The style of your clothes are beautiful yet quite unique, where do the inspirations behind your designs come from?
There are two worlds that collide in our design process – the inspiration from our customer and then the truly creative, organic design process that our team works on. Our customer inspiration runs through the whole business – really thinking about what is relevant for her, garnering feedback on designs, fabrics, fit, where is she going to be going when she is wearing our clothes? While the creative process evolves through cultural moments such as art exhibitions, colour trends and moods, fabric innovation and development, and silhouette design. Our signature designs such as the wrapped waists and draped details have been thought through to flatter and enhance a woman’s shape and create femininity without being fussy. You can see these in the pieces such as the Arlington, Belleville and Camelot, which feature season after season. We’ve now innovated into knitted and jersey versions of some of these styles – which are amazing for working at home and being comfortable all day – while still looking incredible!
The price point of The Fold is really great given the quality of the tailoring and the materials, how are you able to achieve this?
Because we are a direct to consumer brand, we don’t have to consider a wholesale mark-up in our pricing. We work hard to source incredible fabrics, yarns, and work with factories that are really of the most luxury quality. The price point is still an investment for our customers, but not unobtainable. The pieces that we create we want to be timeless and treasured for years to come, the total opposite to throwaway disposable fast fashion.
You have achieved incredible success with The Fold, in hindsight is there anything you wish you had done differently or any knowledge you wish you had before you started?
I started The Fold with a very strong vision to create a beautiful work wardrobe for our customers and develop a community of these like-minded, high-flying and stylish women. I felt that I knew a lot about our customers’ needs and mindset.
“The pieces that we create we want to be timeless and treasured for years to come, the total opposite to throwaway disposable fast fashion.”
However, I was totally new to the fashion/retail industry and to a rapidly changing world of e-commerce and digital marketing. That has been a steep and exciting learning curve. It can be a good thing to come new to an industry with an idea and a different perspective, but I think it also means that you will make more mistakes, and having experience, knowledge and networks already in your chosen area will probably help you achieve your goals faster.
What advice would you give someone wishing to start their own business?
Its not a race – take time to get things right and learn what you need to learn before plunging in. We did a HUGE amount of work during business school, and even then it felt like a rush and we learned tons after we had started getting our hands dirty. It has taken years to get to where we are today, with a fully fledged team and a really professional set up. Which leads to my next point which is that starting a business is a life long commitment. So you really do need to be absolutely sure you want to do it.
“It is in those low moments, that I really know I LOVE The Fold because I can somehow keep going and never lose my passion for the business.”
I think the entrepreneurial lifestyle can seem appealing but that is because it is hard to really see all sides of it when you only read the success stories out there. In reality it is years of hard work, stress over sales, growth, cash, expansion, team, pandemics…. There are factors I never considered, like having no maternity leave, being able to get a mortgage, and even just bearing the responsibility of the team, suppliers and investors who you work with. It isn’t for everyone and it has pushed me to the absolute limit of my resilience. It is in those low moments, that I really know I LOVE The Fold because I can somehow keep going and never lose my passion for the business.
You really seem to keep in touch with your client base and their needs, how will you evolve your brand in the coming years?
We ran a survey over the last year on the importance of workwear and had nearly 8000 women tell us their views. This year we are updating that with a particular view of what is changing and important in workwear given the impact of covid-19 this year. Constantly listening and evolving will hopefully keep us relevant for our customers as their needs change. What we will always stick to is the quality of our product, and making sure that we make our customer feel confident, so that she can go out there and change the world!
I have noticed your recent updates on working from home, how has the recent environment affected your business?
Covid-19 has really impacted us much like many small, fast growing businesses and particularly in retail, fashion etc. We have seen incredible loyalty from our team, suppliers and customers which has been amazing, and we have worked hard to make the best out of such a difficult situation.
“What has never wavered is our belief and commitment that what you wear can really boost your confidence and make you feel ready for anything.”
Some wonderful customer feedback and heartfelt messages, ideas, content, and product has also come out of the crisis and we are excited to see as we head into autumn that there is definitely a ‘back to work’ momentum, even if not everyone is back in the office. What has never wavered is our belief and commitment that what you wear can really boost your confidence and make you feel ready for anything – whether it is a zoom call from home or the one day that you have back with your team at the office.
You can find out more about The Fold London by visiting their flagship store at Cadogan Place, Chelsea or at https://www.thefoldlondon.com/
Photographs contain clickthrough URL’s where appropriate
Photography courtesy of The Fold London