British designer Molly Goddard on her vibrant, feminine fashion: amid quiet luxury styles, she creates huge smocked dresses, fairy-tale frocks and bright striped cardigans – and Harry Styles is a fan

Aug 17 , 2023

British fashion designer Molly Goddard likes to keep her collections feminine and vibrant. Photo: Handout

You would guess that Molly Goddard – the British designer known for her huge smocked dresses in vibrant shades – enjoyed dressing up as a child. Unsurprisingly, her creations manage to inspire that nostalgic sense of fantasy in adult women; I don’t doubt that even the most tulle-averse of us would don one her signature frocks for the sake of it.

However, Goddard, who was born in the late 80s and grew up around London’s Portobello Road, famous for its street markets, describes her younger self as more of a tomboy.

Molly Goddard and her team readying a model for the spring/summer 2023 show. Photo: Arthur Williams

“I was out every night running around the garden. I had lots of friends who were boys and I guess there was no kind of idea of dressing up or down,” she tells Style in her light-filled studio in Bethnal Green, East London. “[In] photos of me as a toddler, I’m dressed in these amazing white smock dresses that my mum had found at the market, but in the park with wellies on.”

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Eight years after the launch of her namesake brand, that penchant for unabashedly feminine, yet uncontrived dressing continues to play into Goddard’s work, and her autumn/winter 2023 collection especially. The show, which took place in said studio, reimagined the brand’s hallmarks and playful palettes in everyday, street-ready silhouettes: tulle dresses took on streamlined, rather than surreal, proportions; wool blazers and coats with ribbon pique detailing were layered over mini dresses with near-matching stripes, followed by oversized bomber jackets and off-kilter knitwear over gauzy skirts; bags paid homage to the studded belts of the designer’s teenage wardrobe.

British fashion designer Molly Goddard. Photo: Lee Whittaker

Embracing a low-key direction was a challenge for Goddard, who remains the only designer on her 14-person team. But it proved a welcome one. “It’s easy for me to make a massive tulle dress. I find it harder to do refined, restrained things,” she says.

The show also served as an opportunity to ground the brand in its offering amid the industry’s obsession with newness, virality and gimmicks. “I was definitely feeling a bit worn down by how full-on everything is in fashion, how fast everything is, how much money there is in it and how [companies] throw money at any situation to make some sensationalist big thing happen – it’s not about the clothes,” she adds.

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Molly Goddard’s autumn/winter 2023 show. Photo: Ben Broomfield Photography

“There’s obviously a place for that and everyone needs to do it, but it felt nice to just do a show that felt very much for us and for our customers and just be honest about the size of our business. This is our studio and we’re not kind of trying to pretend to be anything we’re not.”

Though Goddard still makes every single creative decision around her collections, much has changed during the business’ eight-year run. Two collections a year doubled to four over the pandemic; in recent years it’s moved into categories like accessories and – more recently – bridal.

A bigger team has upped efficiency, she says, though a heavier workload means she can no longer be as hands-on and physically make something for every collection. Molly Goddard is ultimately a small independent brand that’s still scaling gradually, but these are growing pains and compromises each founder and designer must reckon with.

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“It’s a very hard business,” she adds. “It’s always been so important for us to do it in a way that is fair to everyone and our suppliers and our staff – it’s a nice place to work and no one works late hours. Me and Tessa, our managing director, talk about feeling a bit like teenagers now – you had your moment of glory, but we are not in a position where we’re fully adults.”

That may be the case behind the scenes, but the brand is still making moves, not only internationally (visits to Singapore and Beijing have been discussed) but in its fast-growing bespoke business, which allows clients to browse the Molly Goddard archives and receive made-to-order pieces in six to eight weeks.

David Hockney’s portrait of Harry Styles in a Molly Goddard cardigan. Photo: Handout

Meanwhile, Goddard’s creations continue to appeal to a growing audience, which range from day-one fans like fashion journalist Lynn Yaeger to Harry Styles, who sat for a portrait by David Hockney in the brand’s yellow and orange striped cardigan. The latter union feels especially apt, considering the penchants for colourful palettes that Hockney, Styles and Goddard are all known for.

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Indeed, after months-long discussions of beige quiet luxury and old money dressing, these joyful yet comfortable creations are a breath of fresh air. The designer recalls working on her first post-pandemic show: “I was so bored of seeing black leggings and black North Face jackets everywhere I went. I think that [look] hasn’t gone away as much as it should have.”

“I get why you invest in pieces that feel easy,” she continues. “But I invest in things that make me feel happy and stand out and have good memories for me, and that’s much easier in colour and print and texture.”

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Fashion

Harry Styles wore a Goddard piece when he sat for a portrait by artist David Hockney, but the designer’s day-one fans include fashion journalist Lynn Yaeger
She grew up around London’s Portobello Road and its famed street markets, but says she was more of a tomboy when young – now she has a studio in Bethnal Green where she creates bespoke pieces