Anjali Stewart and Rachel Easting, Twenty-seven Names
ON THE TWENTY-SEVEN NAMES BRAND ETHOS
“The core of our brand is that we are two women out there doing it. We are in control of the imagery we are presenting, and we have been feminists since way before it was cool. We are very aware of our place in both the fashion and business industries, and as young(ish) women ourselves, we are conscious that we put forward a realistic and positive depiction of the brand. Our aim is to make women’s clothing that makes the wearer feel comfortable, confident and strong. Our campaigns centre around the portraiture of our subjects — it’s about the women wearing the clothes, not the other way around.”
ON THEIR FEMALE MUSES
“For our winter 2016 collection we imagined a dinner party (a reference to the work of legendary artist, Judy Chicago) where we invited a wideranging bunch of women who inspire us — everyone from Emma Watson, Beyoncé and Helen Clark, to Jenny Holzer, Mindy Kaling and Tracey Emin. For winter 2017 we decided to look closer to home. It’s not always about the stars of your favourite Netflix show, or the movers and shakers of the world. More often we’re inspired by our friends, our sisters, our team, our mothers.”
ON ‘FEMINIST FASHION’
“Our winter collection ‘Leave No Stone Unturned’ is celebrated by a series of photographs of our team (ourselves included). Shot by James K. Lowe, this project allowed us to visualise our feminism within our brand. If we can see ourselves in the photographs, in the clothes, we can see that perfection isn’t a prerequisite to beauty. Your eye might jump to that thing you hate to see reflected in a photograph, but what happens when you look for a little longer? And what would happen if, instead of asking “How do I look?” we asked “What will I do today?” Beyond that, we think that every woman should be able to express herself as she sees fit. I’m going to do me, and you do you.”
ON TRUMP, GENDER EQUALITY, AND THE WOMEN’S MARCH
“F**k Trump.”
“If we can see ourselves in the photographs, we can see that perfection isn’t a prerequisite to beauty”