From the smallest artisan maker to the biggest fashion label, Beyond Bespoke’s mission is to champion the best of British creative talent. Founder Lucie Lewis talks about what makes a true homegrown brand – and why buying British means knowing exactly what you are going to get…
How did it all begin?
I began my career in marketing as a Harrods retail trainee, winning the Lord Sainsbury scholarship, and went on to develop the Harrods Store at Heathrow’s Terminal 4. After helping to launch the Merchant Gourmet brand, I created my own brand, the Bay Tree, a food company which I developed into a £4.5 million business with 185 different products. I also worked with the celebrity chef Rick Stein setting up his cookery school in Padstow, Cornwall. This journey introduced me to the world of luxury and an appreciation of the very best available.
The inspiration behind Beyond Bespoke
I launched Beyond Bespoke in 2012 having identified a gap in the market and realising there was no one place that people could go online to find British companies that were the best of the best. My aim was to bring them together under one roof, which is essentially a hand-picked collection of Britain’s best brands, from fashion and jewellery designers to bespoke cabinet makers.
What makes a brand a “true” British luxury brand?
British luxury is synonymous with exquisite craftsmanship, engineering, design, attention to detail and comfort. Its appeal lies in the fact that it is beautifully understated and has a wonderful sense of purpose. To be a truly luxury British brand you need to possess all these qualities.
I do think that the “Made in” is key – that the consumer knows and trusts that the quality will be impeccable. Burberry and Mulberry, for example, are very strong on pushing their ‘Made in Britain’ credentials. People want to buy British because they know exactly what they are getting.
What are examples of true British luxury brands that contribute on a grand scale to the industry?
Burberry, Paul Smith and Temperley London make a global contribution to the British luxury market, not only by championing the best of British but by striving to achieve the highest standards of craftsmanship with absolute integrity.
With the ever-changing landscape, what can British luxury brands do to remain relevant in the future?
Brands must remain one step ahead of the consumer, to give them something they didn’t know they wanted. This is what brands such as Burberry excel at – they anticipate the need of the consumer. The key is to understand one’s consumer 100% – what turns them on and how they live their lives.
British luxury brands need to also recognise that if they don’t have that long tradition of heritage – after all, there are plenty young luxury British brands coming up through the ranks – that there are many other aspects of ‘Britishness” that appeal to overseas consumers that can help them to make an impression on the industry from a global perspective, whether that be the Queen and Royal Family or James Bond.
Portrait by Katharine Davies
This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared in Women’s Luxury Guild
Read Lucie’s new weekly update on the world of British luxury in Style File
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