Scottish fashion designer behind clothing range for bigger-busted women goes global

A fashion designer who launched her business from a spare bedroom after losing her job during the pandemic is now turning over a six-figure sum and shipping goods globally.

Jayne Lasley launched Fairlie Curved as an Instagram page in October 2020, inspired by her personal experience of struggling to find clothes for fuller frames. It has since transformed into an e-commerce business selling clothing and accessories for women above a D-cup. The Heriot-Watt fashion graduate spent more than 20 years in the industry working as a buyer for several high street brands including New Look and Internationale. After being made redundant during the pandemic, she came across an old clothing collection she had designed in her final year at university to cater for fuller-busted women.

Lasley said: “Although I had lots of experience in the fashion industry, I’d never run a business, and didn’t have any plans to when I launched the Instagram page. My vision was to offer fashionable but classic options that would stand the test of time while empowering women. Business Gateway played a huge part in helping me to take the plunge to transform Fairlie Curved into an established business.”

The business support service was instrumental in helping Lasley secure her first office premises, in Paisley, in early 2021, and also offered guidance on securing an interest-free loan to purchase initial stock. Within just two years of trading, with support from Business Gateway, the fledgling fashion firm has grown a community of 20,000 followers, with Fairlie Curved now turning over some £250,000.