Hayley Scanlan - The realities of running a creative business

Hayley is a Dundee born fashion designer with clients that include Little Mix, The Saturdays and Pixie Lot. We talk about how she got into the industry and established her clothing label H.S. It was clear from chatting to Hayley that style and appearance have been key considerations for her from a really early age. Sitting round the kitchen table with her Gran sewing clothes for her barbies and passing comment over strangers appearances in the street. I don’t think I’ve had someone on the podcast who has been so determined and driven towards a single goal from as early as they can remember. As I’ve found with a lot of the creatives on the podcast, Hayley didn’t particularly get on well with educational institutions. Even at DJCAD she struggled to see how she fitted within the textiles course when all she really wanted to create were clothing lines. Before finishing at art school she found herself out in the Hollywood Hills working for Jeremy Scott and brushing shoulders with a few celebrities. This experience clearly gave her a lot of confidence in her abilities and solid foundation of skills to build on. From her degree show leather jacket which had interest from supermodel Erin O’Connor to dressing pop stars like Little Mix, The Saturdays and Pixie Lot, Hayley’s work has attracted a massive amount of attention. What strikes me about her is how completely grounded she is. Her twin boys are the centre of her world and she has an insatiable desire to create work. We also go on to talk about her problems with manufacturing and her move to positioning the brand more internationally. The Hayley Scanlan shop on Perth Road has been a long time coming and it’s great to see local designers on the high street. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come and we can start to forge a much greater range of independent shops in Dundee. Website - http://www.hayleyscanlan.com/ Instagram - https://instagram.com/hayleyscanlanstudio Twitter - https://twitter.com/HayleyScanlan Jeremy Scott - https://www.jeremyscott.com/