Curves are the name of the game after lockdown discovery
Rediscovering uni notes inspired new business
The wife of Motherwell Football Club’s assistant manager has become hot property in the fashion world after taking the plunge to launch a clothing collection especially for women who are blessed with bigger boobs.
During the first coronavirus lockdown, Jayne Lasley – whose husband, Keith, is Motherwell FC’s coach – was at a loose end while on furlough from her job as a fashion buyer.
Deciding to gut their garage, Jayne discovered a box containing her degree course notes from Heriot Watt University’s School of Textile and Design at Galashiels.
It was a eureka moment that gave rise to her uplifting idea for a clothing label that is now the answer to many women’s prayers.
Inspired by her own struggles to find flattering, well-fitting clothing for bigger-busted women, young undergraduate Jayne Fairlie had – as part of her Textile Fashion Design and Management degree course – created fictitious fashion firm, Fairlie Curved.
Even before she had graduated, talented Jayne embarked on a career as a fashion buyer for Scottish company Internationale, and went on to work for three years for high street chain, New Look.
She returned to Scotland to marry then Motherwell midfielder, Keith. Like so many professional women, Jayne was juggling a full-time job and two children, and questioned whether she would ever be able to realise her entrepreneurial ambitions.
“At the age of 40, I thought I was too old to start my own business and hung back,” explained Jayne.
“Then, fate stepped in one day during the first lockdown when I was clearing out my garage and found my old university course work, including styling, designs and a branding pack for a fashion business called Fairlie Curved.
“I still loved the name even after so many years, and I had noticed that there still weren’t many options for women with a fuller bust – lots of lingerie, but not actual clothes.”
With that gap in the market at the forefront of her mind, Jayne used her time on furlough to create a Fairlie Curved styling page on Instagram.
“It really took off, and within a few weeks had gained over 1000 followers,” she said.
“In fact, I was inundated with people asking me where they could buy my clothes, which made me realise that there was definitely a market out there for what I wanted to do.”
Jayne went on to conduct an Instagram poll to establish which garments women had difficulty sourcing. The response was loud and clear: fuller-busted women were experiencing real problems finding well fitting tee shirts.