What We Wore - Episode 164: Live from the Brentwood Country Mart with Anya Hindmarch, Gregg Renfrew, and Laura Vinroot Poole (Archive) Date: October 9, 2025
Host: Laura Vinroot Poole
Guest: Anya Hindmarch
[Focus is on Anya Hindmarch. Gregg Renfrew not present in transcript]

Episode Overview

In this special archive episode, Laura Vinroot Poole speaks live at the Brentwood Country Mart with iconic British designer and entrepreneur Anya Hindmarch. The conversation dives deep into Anya's personal and professional journey: the roots of her entrepreneurial spirit, the challenges and joys of building a global fashion business, motherhood, the realities of work-life "balance," and the wisdom she distilled in her book, If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair. With warmth, humor, and candor, Anya and Laura discuss ambition, resilience, partnership, and the transformative power of self-belief for women in business.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Roots of an Entrepreneur

• Family Legacy: Anya’s upbringing in the English countryside was surrounded by entrepreneurship—her father, aunts, and even siblings all ran businesses.

  • “It is a bit of an entrepreneurial disease in our family.” (02:11 — Anya)

• Influences and Mentors: Anya discusses the lack of working women role models during her youth, especially in the South (US vs UK context), and how her mother's style influenced her aesthetic and approach to design.

  • “My mother...dressed really beautiful, a lot of care with how she dressed. And I remember the bags she used to have and they were...quite influential to some of my design.” (03:50 — Anya)

2. Early Fascination with Fashion and Creation

• School and Creativity: The strict Catholic school uniform prompted Anya and her peers to find subtle, creative modes of self-expression.

  • “Uniform is interesting because...if you restrict people, they become creative with very little.” (02:59 — Anya)

• First Visualization: As a teenager, she literally drew a vision of her shop with handbags in the window, a formative manifestation technique she recommends to others.

  • “If you commit it...to paper...or say it, you’re actually much more likely for it to happen. I’m a huge believer in that.” (05:31 — Anya)

3. Launching a Business Young

• Bold Beginnings: At 18, she designed her first handbag and sourced production in Florence, Italy, inspired by a “go-go-go” business culture in the UK under Margaret Thatcher and fueled by family experience.

  • “When you’re young, you have absolutely no sense of fear....You can just get going in a very small way and you learn a huge amount.” (07:32 — Anya)

• Early Challenges as a Woman: Facing sexism in Italian and British manufacturing, she navigated uncomfortable scenarios and learned how to assert herself politely but firmly.

  • “There were people...saying, ‘let’s meet you in the piano bar.’ You’re like, no, no, no, I’m here to try and design.” (08:58 — Anya)

4. The Realities of the Fashion Business

• Scrappiness & Resilience: Anya describes the hustle—faxing letters, chasing payment, building credibility bit by bit.

  • Memorable anecdote: sitting in an unpaid shop until they paid her (10:40).

• Business School Lessons: She argues hands-on experience trumps business school, especially for would-be entrepreneurs.

  • “It’s the best business school...better than any business school and I would often argue that you’re better to get going than spend all that money on university.” (11:05 — Anya)

• Surviving Recessions: Economic downturns forced tough but necessary business decisions, and taught the value of running lean and valuing partnerships.

  • “Always run your business to a certain extent as if you were in a recession. It makes for a very sharp entrepreneur.” (11:53 — Anya)

5. Partnership in Life and Business

• Personal and Professional Partnership: Anya shares her moving story of meeting her husband James (a widower with three young children), their blended family, and how they’ve co-run her business.

  • “My proudest achievement...we have a family of five children, which feels like a family, which is really, really my proudest achievement, I would say.” (13:17 — Anya)

• Work-Life "Balance": Anya offers a refreshingly candid, practical take:

  • “I don’t think that you do get a balance. I think that you go into...a tunnel [with young kids]...for two years, you just don’t have any time to do anything other than just survive, really.” (14:16 — Anya)
  • She advises treating parenting like a major project: plan, staff, and prepare for flexibility.

• On Not Complaining: An acupuncturist’s advice helped her reframe her exhaustion:

  • “Don’t complain. Every single one of these things that you’re complaining about are things that you chose.” (17:05 — Acupuncturist via Anya)

6. Selling, Buying Back, and Evolving a Business

• The Sale and Buyback: Anya sold part of her company, then later bought it back. She reflects on the pros and cons—losing control, wanting to preserve the original culture, and the importance of founders in businesses.

  • “The most valuable thing on a balance sheet of a business is the culture and is the people.” (19:06 — Anya)

• Digital vs Physical Retail: Covid accelerated a strategic shift towards digital and meaningful flagship locations, but she now believes the best brands are omnichannel with “touch points” for real engagement.

  • “You can’t just be digital. There’s something [about stores]...the touch points and the experience.” (20:18 — Anya)

7. Wisdom for Entrepreneurs (and Notes from the Book)

• Why Write the Book: After 50, Anya gained the confidence to share honestly with her daughter and other women about self-doubt and overcoming it.

  • “As a woman, you tend to naturally do yourself down the whole time...at 50, you’ve just got to...trust yourself.” (21:44 — Anya)

• Advice to Young Creatives:

  • Triangle of Pain: The hard, unglamorous "middle" phase—chasing production, sales, payment. Most businesses are lost here. Success comes from not giving up.
    • “If you can just not give up, that’s literally all it takes. Just don’t give up. And if you don’t give up, you’ll succeed.” (24:19 — Anya)
  • Tightrope System: Over-communicate with your team, especially in tough times.
    • “Tell everyone what your goal is, ring the bell when it goes well, bring out the tissues...when it doesn’t...be really transparent.” (25:08 — Anya)
  • Dinner/Sunday Lunch Test (For Investors/Partners): Only take money or choose board members you’d actually enjoy spending real time with.
    • “Would it be fun? Are you aligned? Do you laugh at the same things?...Apply that Sunday lunch test...” (26:15 — Anya)

• On Investment:

  • “Investment means you can’t afford to do it yourself...It is not a badge of honor.” (25:34 — Anya)

8. Reframing Fear, Public Speaking, and Self-Belief

• Fear as Excitement: Anya reframed her terror of public speaking (and flying) as excitement, aided by therapy (NLP). She recommends self-kindness and preparation to allay nerves.

  • “Fear and excitement are the same emotion...[reframe]—I’m actually really excited.” (28:04 — Anya)
  • “Your brain is unbelievably clever. It’s a light switch. You can turn it on and you can turn it off.” (29:54 — Anya)

• Practical Calm: Anya shares the actor’s breathing exercise: inhale for ten, imagine sparkles, exhale stress—plus, the calming effect of exhalation.

  • “Breath is absolutely everything...the first thing you should do is exhale. That actually completely calms down your central nervous system.” (30:37 — Anya)

9. Organization, Overwhelm, and Mental Health

• Tips for Staying Afloat: Organization is crucial for her mental health—a weekly Sunday review and advance planning for family/personal needs.
  • “I work on a Sunday...to clear all the things from my inbox that I didn’t manage to get through last week.” (31:23 — Anya)
  • She used tools like blackboard walls at home to coordinate family life.

10. Personal Style and Milestones

• First Big Fashion Moment: Anya recalls her version of the "prom"—the Feathers Ball as a teen, customizing her dress for edge.
  • “We didn’t speak to each other for a week” (on her mother’s reaction to her punk-inspired hair highlights) (34:04 — Anya)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• “If you restrict people, they become creative with very little.” (02:59 — Anya)
• “When you put on the right shoes or outfit, you...feel amazing...that’s the magic, I think, of fashion.” (04:26 — Anya)
• “The best business school...better than any business school...” (11:05 — Anya)
• “Never waste a good recession, which is a horrible expression, but it’s true.” (11:49 — Anya)
• “I don’t think that you do get a balance. I think...for two years you just don’t have any time to do anything other than just survive, really.” (14:16 — Anya)
• “Don’t complain. Every single one of these things...are things you chose.” (17:05 — Anya, quoting her acupuncturist)
• “The most valuable thing on a balance sheet is the culture and the people.” (19:06 — Anya)
• “If you can just not give up, that’s literally all it takes.” (24:19 — Anya)
• “Investment...is not a badge of honor.” (25:31 — Anya)
• “Your brain is a light switch. You can turn it on and you can turn it off.” (29:54 — Anya)
• “I would label my children if I could.” (31:19 — Anya)
• “We didn’t speak to each other for a week.” (on hair highlights as a teen) (34:04 — Anya)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:53 — Discovery of Anya’s book and how it resonated with Laura
• 02:01 — Anya’s family background in business
• 03:45 — First handbag Anya loved (gift from her mother)
• 05:13 — Early visualization and goal setting
• 06:56 — Designing her first handbag and manufacturing challenges
• 08:47 — Gender dynamics and production in Italy
• 11:22 — Lessons from recession and partnership
• 13:01 — Personal partnership: marrying James, blending families, working together
• 14:09 — Honest advice on the myth of work-life balance
• 16:51 — The importance of accepting the consequences of your chosen commitments
• 17:45 — Selling the business, buying it back, and the importance of founder-led culture
• 19:38 — Pandemic strategies: digital vs in-person retail
• 21:18 — Motivations for writing the book at age 50
• 23:37 — Advice for entrepreneurs: triangle of pain, tightropes, and dinner test
• 27:47 — Overcoming fear/shyness in public speaking
• 31:23 — Organizational strategies for busy lives
• 33:26 — Teenage fashion milestone (“prom” story)

Conclusion

This candid conversation is a wealth of real-world wisdom for designers, entrepreneurs, and working women. Anya Hindmarch’s practical insights, vulnerability, and humor spark both inspiration and reassurance for anyone charting their own path in life and business.