The Lifestyle Edit meets The Fold London's Polly McMaster

I studied Natural Sciences and did my PHD in Virology at Cambridge – studying virus models that ultimately teach us about how they persist in the human body. I loved the team I was working with, and it was extremely rewarding work, but I felt the need to broaden my horizons rather than focus on one particular field. I went into Strategy Consulting and then Private Equity – working with biotech and healthcare companies, so I was able to combine some of my scientific knowledge with learning more about the world of business. That was when I really started to catch the bug for business and commercial strategy. Meeting with entrepreneurs and management teams who had built up amazing businesses was very inspiring.

The Lifestyle Edit meets The Fold London's Polly McMasterComing from an academic background definitely helped me in business. Turning your curiosity into research and then actual output; rigour in your work and approach; thinking analytically and creatively solving problems – were all skills I learnt while studying that you can use in all walks of life. I think starting out with that discipline and energy to see projects through to completion and having an eye from the detail to the big picture, have all stood me in a good stead for what I do to today.

I always loved fashion, right back from when I was in school – I even took evening classes to make my own clothes, since I couldn’t afford the ones I liked in the shops! I did a lot of art and was quite torn as to whether to pursue it more seriously at the time. In the end, I chose to study science (I think I am weirdly left and right brained!), but the love for great design stayed with me, and left me frustrated that there seemed to be so little attention paid to what women could wear to work. I’ve never believed that you should sacrifice beautiful design for practicality – the two should go hand in hand.

My decision to set up my label, The Fold London was a mixture of instinct and numbers. I believe that instinct and judgement will always play a huge part – particularly in a creative business, and sometimes you won’t be able to explain it away with a spreadsheet. Having said that, you then need to test your instinct and back up your plans with the numbers and results to support them. Balancing the two sides could determine your success or failure.

Funding the business was a combination of start-up funding from myself and business partner (who has since moved to the US), and then outside investment from supportive Angel Investors. My advice to anyone wanting to set up on their own would be to think very carefully and long-term about how you can support the business and yourself financially. Ask for advice for support if you don’t have your own experience in business planning. It is an extremely rewarding path running your own business, but you have to be realistic about what it takes financially, and whether you can afford to take the risk. Test the idea as much as you possibly can before you spend any money and ideally before you put other career plans on hold. Think through the whole picture, not just the first part of the idea – building a business is a long-term commitment like a marriage, and it will go with you everywhere. So make sure you are absolutely passionate about it. Make sure to build your black book, and surround yourself with a great support network. Once you are underway, it’s a massively exciting, fulfilling journey – the highs are really amazing, as you know that you’ve worked so hard to get there. You are in control of the culture, the vision and the direction of your business – which is very liberating.

Since I love clothes and fashion, I wanted to enjoy dressing for work. I used to find it quite hard to find clothes that I felt looked the part, but at a price I could afford. That’s the gap we’re tying to help fill at The Fold. I think power dressing did come into it to an extent – for example wearing a well cut black suit and high heels to a key meeting definitely gave me confidence and an underlying calm when I entered a room. If I put something on that I didn’t feel great in, it bothered me for the rest of the day. It’s all about confidence – finding a look that you feel completely comfortable in. For each woman, that will be different – for some, a fabulously cut dress, for others, a chic suit. The feedback we get that is so critical for us is how an outfit makes someone feel inside – you know, so you can handle whatever the day throws at you and give you the confidence to perform at your best. In my eyes, that’s the secret ingredient of a ‘power’ piece.

The Lifestyle Edit meets The Fold London's Polly McMasterWomen’s clothes are much more varied than men’s so there is far more scope to stand out. For better or worse, this means that clothes can become a talking point, even when it’s relating to a woman in a position or role that has nothing to do with fashion. Dressing in a way that can reflect the importance of their professional role but still allows for individuality and personality is key. For a long time, I think it’s been easier for fashion brands to simply focus on stand-out pieces for the weekend or evening wear, than it is for them to focus purely on offering great work wear. They can have more embellishment, colour and freedom of fabrics and textures – there really are no rules. In work wear, there are more constraints, which I think actually makes it a really exciting challenge. We’re always thinking about the constraints we need to work with, before using them to push our designs and meet them in the best way we can.

The Fold Woman is diverse – but the common thread is that her work is important to her (in whichever role and industry) and so is her personal style. She wants to support her confidence and feel that she is representing herself well in her role, without sacrificing her style. She appreciates great quality, and understands investment dressing over fast-fashion. Her clothes need to wear well, be beautifully flattering, enhance her personality and figure rather than distract, and most importantly put a smile on her face when she gets dressed in the morning! We love to think about her environment, her tastes, her confidence and design to make her feel really special – I think understanding her and paying her attention is what makes us stand out.

Women who have fought their way to the top in previous generations have helped to break boundaries and now there is less to prove, so women can just get on with doing the job. There is more understanding that different qualities are valuable in leadership positions, and so now there is less of a preconception that respect in a high-powered role should be mutually exclusive with femininity. Everybody is different, as are the challenges in different industries, but physically, women are the ones who bear children – and workplaces seem to be getting better at creating a flexible and supportive environment to support that.   This is so critical, especially when often women will start a family right at a key point of their career. I think at work and at home the challenge is around support, resource, motivation, ambition and achievement – to find a solution in both environments that gives women the resources they need (and want) to achieve their goals.

One of the things I’m most proud of since launching The Fold is seeing our customers wearing it, either as part of our Fold Woman feature, where we get to find out more about their remarkable and inspiring careers, or in the public eye. We were all very proud to see Samantha Cameron wearing The Fold during the election – she is such an accomplished business woman, and conducts herself so elegantly – it was a defining moment for us.   Setting up the business, building the team and the brand has pushed me to every limit I have.   You are always having to think outside the box, keep everything moving forward, and jump between the little details and the big picture. Overall it has made me a much stronger, more rounded person, with a much better sense of perspective.

Images by Dvora exclusively for The Lifestyle Edit with art direction from Naomi Mdudu.