March Star Maker: House of MBA

Each month I create an edit of nine independent brands in my Indie Interiors column, in Reclaim’s print issue. And now, every issue, I choose my Star Maker from these nine and get to know them a bit better

This month, it’s House of MBA, a fantastic fashion brand by Annie Phillips (winner of The Great British Sewing Bee 2022) inspired by her Ghanaian heritage and created with sustainable materials.

Introduce us to your brand

MBA is a brand that celebrates colour, joy and sustainability in the most joyous way. I started it off the back of inheriting some freedom since quitting my job in the fashion industry, and quite naturally found myself focusing my time around sustainability. But when it came to brands I found it hard to find truly responsible brands that resonate with me – prioritising style while celebrating culture and most importantly joy in their designs.

It took over a year to build this brand, prioritising circularity and longevity through meticulous fabric selection and collaboration with the right partners, but first and foremost this is a British brand infusing my fun vibrant heritage, London vibes and comfortable silhouettes.

What makes you stand out from the crowd?

The unique blend of African silhouettes and London influences, which resonate with my own identity. There’s something about them that effortlessly captures the relaxed African style while still remaining perfectly suitable for my UK wardrobe.

Also the storytelling in the brand has been so important to me! My grandmother’s resounding mantra, ‘nothing but the best’, resonates so strongly. Even when sourcing second-hand materials, our fabrics are fortified, organic, and inherently beautiful, ensuring that wearing our pieces imbues you with a sense of quality. Our silhouettes celebrate body positivity and femininity, with the hope of inspiring you with the same confidence my grandmother instilled in me.

Which part of the process of making your pieces do you enjoy the most?

It’s definitely the experimental stage! I have so many ideas – it’s so wonderful seeing sometimes two or three visions come together into one, seeing ideas work (sometimes not work!) and having the freedom to try things. I love the nature of a small business in that it’s not as prescriptive as you would think. Ideas are free-flowing, they change all of the time and that’s okay.

When did you realise you were a creative soul?

Oh, I realised this from a very young age! Anything crafty growing up – it had my name all over it. I was taught to sew by my grandmother, Monica, and she was always knitting and sewing so I kind of grew up with it, but I’ve always gravitated to artistic things. My mum paints and my dad is super-creative in a more practical way, and I think that has molded me into feeling my most comfortable in creative environments.

What’s the best feedback you’ve received about your brand or products?

It’s so difficult with an online business to truly get responses to your designs, which is why I love popping up in markets and shops to hear them. Seeing women trying on the dresses, and finding all of the reasons they love it, or are surprised by them is wonderful.

I always hear ‘Oh my god, it has pockets!’, ‘the cotton is so soft’, ‘I wouldn’t normally wear this but it suits me!’ from the fitting rooms and that’s so refreshing because they are all things I had considered. One DM I had was from a woman who simply said ‘I feel so beautiful in my new dress’ and that is literally why I make them!

Why is sustainability so important to you personally and how you build your brand identity?

One thing that stuck out to me so vividly was my research into Kantamanto Market in Accra, the capital of my grandmother’s birth country Ghana. This is a place where most unwanted textiles end up, usually to be repaired, upcycled and then resold. However, more recently the textiles from fast fashion are so poor in quality that nearly 80 per cent have to be completely discarded as they arrive as waste. There is nothing they can do with them, and it just pollutes their community even more.

There were so many elements to this that resonated with me, my values and my heritage that I felt it was important to build something that not only raises awareness about waste, but also captures the vibrancy and joy of Ghanaian culture.

When looking at your journey so far, what would you do differently?

I’d be less scared to ask for help, and talk to other creatives as much as I can! No question is too silly – it’s normally something they have asked themselves, and within the small business world there is in the most part such a lovely sense of community where people are happy to help. It can be quite lonely working for yourself, especially if you have come from a busier environment, so the more you can include others, the better. Also to learn more on the business side of things. I’m all about the craft – less so much on the paperwork – but it’s so important to grow and get people seeing your work.

What’s next for your brand?

Much more upcycled, one-off pieces! I try to keep consistency and accessibility paramount in offering a range of sizing, but I have gone a little more back to my roots on the next drop by sourcing materials that were already made and circulating rather than designing all of the prints myself. This does mean that the availability in multiple sizes is limited as we only have limited fabric, but if I can’t showcase the joy in recreating from old, who can? And, of course, lots more of those scrunchies in lots of colours!