Female Founded: Sabina Savage

Can you expand on how you discovered your passion for hand-drawing, and how this led to creating your own brand?

Growing up, I had always enjoyed drawing, but it wasn’t my primary passion. I was more interested in the fashion side of things; the drama and theatre of the Galliano, McQueen and Westwood shows. So, at 18, I moved to Paris to study couture. Four years later, following short stints in ateliers such as Lesage and Gareth Pugh, I ended up working at Alexander McQueen, starting as an intern in the print department. Combining my intricate couture training, my love of storytelling, and the endless possibilities of a pencil line, something clicked. When I left McQueen, I moved home and drew my first self-directed collection of scarves, designs true to my aesthetic and working process today. This wasn’t an intentional formation of a brand, but things slowly and organically began to take shape over several years. 

Your label has quietly crept to the top of the fashion industry and is now the number one at Fortnum and Mason (huge congratulations, by the way!). Did you intentionally build your brand away from the more typical fashion system, or did it just happen that way?

I am very fortunate that my brand has evolved in an organic, natural way. I had no concept of branding or marketing, no experience with production processes, no financing, and no business plan, but I did understand that I would need to work in line with the seasonal fashion calendar if I wanted to have stockists (Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter). The brand runs from an artistic viewpoint rather than a commercial one, which naturally sets us apart from the relentless fashion machine.

I feel it’s a cliché phrase these days, but I truly think the brand sits on the boundary between art and fashion. The narrative and stories my work is known for were hugely important to me from the outset, and the brand was primarily started from passion, rather than a financial/business perspective. I care deeply about the works I create, and, despite constant requests, never sell my original illustrations as they mean too much to me at this stage.

Your design process can take over a year. Do you find that your creativity ever falters during this time, or would you say that this extended focus comes naturally? 

I think finding the ‘hook’ for a new collection is the hardest part; there is a time pressure to become inspired, and as anyone will tell you, it doesn’t work like that! However, once I find something to spark my interest and begin the process, there are often months of research before I lay pencil to paper. I visit libraries, galleries, and archives, I speak to academics and specialists, I scour the internet and devour texts and essays. I endeavour to become an expert in my specific subject choice before then allowing my imagination to take over. Many early mornings and dark evenings are spent under my desk lamp like a mad scientist, connecting the various threads of my findings. Once I have my narrative, I begin illustrating. Each drawing takes between 4-6 weeks depending on the complexity, and I think this is where my very intricate couture training kicks in! As soon as I find inspiration, the rest is second nature to me, thankfully.

As someone whose work is built on storytelling, would you say that literature, fashion, and the natural world are all equally important to your design process, or do you find one to be more resonant than another?

My initial challenge each season is to develop a new tale; I collect inspiration and make notes throughout the year in the hope that something may spark a new idea at the right time. This can be literature, poetry, theatre, art, something I’ve seen on my travels, or simply the sight of a beautiful bird taking off in Hackney Marshes. I am less directly inspired by fashion these days, but art, literature, and the natural world are all insatiable points of reference in all my collections. I also visit a lot of museums for inspiration, as I find history a great source of interest as well.

Animals are instrumental to your designs, and you are a self-proclaimed ‘nature and creature obsessive’. Aside from their presence in your work, would you say that there are any unconventional ways which animals have informed your art?

I think animals live in my bones. I grew up in rural Somerset in an old farmhouse away from any town or village, so I had a very naturalistic upbringing, and there are many stories of wild animal rehabilitation from my childhood. I remember my parents rescuing a jackdaw with an injured wing who lived in one of our stables until he recovered. We could put on an old glove and he would fly around the garden, landing on our hands. Once he went back to the wild, we would see him following us along the lanes while we rode the horses.

Today, I have a small rescue dog, Ginger, and a little wild cat, Panther, who I found in my garden at 2 days old. Both are constant sources of joy and inspiration to me; their personalities are mirrored in many of my protagonists.

Given your love for both nature and design, what would you say to the fashion industry about its environmental exploitation?

I believe the current fashion system is broken and unsustainable. It’s sadly being driven by commercialism and profit at both ends of the market, and the amount of waste, pollution, and overproduction is devastating and unnecessary. Although the scale of the problem feels overwhelming to contemplate, consumers have the collective power to change the status quo. On a smaller scale, as a founder, I can decide how my company is run, which is another reason I don’t feel my brand aligns with the fashion market. My brand is focused on craftsmanship and artisanal skills, producing sustainably, locally, and consciously, only in small batches, and we never run sales.

While we are still striving to improve, we do everything possible to ensure our footprint is the smallest it can be; our products are all made in the UK using natural materials, including our packaging. We release just two collections per year, as this is the shortest possible timeline for the designs to be well-researched, illustrated, coloured and UK-manufactured, without cutting corners or compromising on our quality or ethics. Our customers appreciate the anticipation and excitement generated by the long wait for new designs, as well as knowing that the value and quality of their item will not decrease.

As someone who has met many influential women, is there anyone who stands out to you as especially inspiring?

I am fortunate to meet many inspiring women through my line of work, including other founders. However, although I did not have/have not had the chance to meet them, the women I find most inspiring are the likes of Dr Jane Goodall, Dame Virginia McKenna, and Margaret Murie, the ‘grandmother of the conservation movement’. These women forged a path in the animal rights movement across the globe during an era when it was particularly difficult for women to be heard. I was honoured to partner with Born Free, Dame Virginia McKenna’s charity, for my collection, Samplers of Sincerity.

Lots of iconic women have been seen wearing Sabina Savage, and just last week, Reese Witherspoon wore your scarf on a return to Harvard Business School. Who have you been most excited to see sporting your designs? 

I have never had a PR company and we don’t routinely offer celebrity gifts or work with influencers - it’s just never been a priority for me, so it’s bewildering and wonderful to see my designs appear on famous women. I usually find out because our lovely followers will excitedly forward me press clippings or Instagram posts. It’s such a pleasure that our customers feel they are growing the brand with us, especially those who have supported from the early days; we receive emails from women who have spotted someone else in a Sabina Savage scarf and ended up making friends. One lady even gifted a stranger the scarf off her neck (we found out because she emailed us to buy herself a replacement!). I am genuinely so excited to see my designs ‘in the wild’ where they belong. It was a thrill when I sat down to dinner in New York last September to see one of my scarves over the shoulders of a very chic lady at the table next to us.

You have your own studio and team in East London. What do you feel that you offer, especially as a woman, to your position as a creative founder and leader? What advice would you give to others based on your experience?

I am currently fortunate to have an all-female team whom I feel so grateful to work alongside. I do my best to foster a truly collaborative, generous, and team-focused culture in the studio, and as a small group, each person on the team holds a vital role in the daily functioning of the company. When hiring, I feel a strong gut intuition which I have learnt to trust over any impressive CV accolades; it’s vital each team member is a good fit when you’re so close-knit. I do not consider myself a natural leader, and I am most definitely a creative above a businesswoman, so I don’t feel I’m in a position to offer any advice other than to trust your instincts.

What is next for Sabina Savage? Where would you like to see the brand go?

As an independent, art-led brand, world domination has never been my goal. I founded the brand through a love of illustration, storytelling, and a passion for craftsmanship, and these will be the core pillars we continue to work with. We are incredibly fortunate to have seen incredible growth across all aspects of the business throughout the past year, and thanks to my amazing team, we have succeeded in rising with the tide and managing increased demand.

That said, my incredibly time-consuming design process, our hand-laboured, quality-focused UK manufacture and our commitment to striving for sustainability will not change, meaning any growth needs to be slow and steady. I hope that consumer focus is beginning to shift away from fast/disposable fashion (even at the higher end of the market) and recognise the value in brands that are reliable and authentic. Moving forward, I would love for the Sabina Savage name to become synonymous internationally with true, artisanal luxury.

To learn more, head to Sabina's website.