Wallasey fashion designer that went from mum's box room to Love Island stars

Bethany Chard 28, saw demand for her designs after she started her brand By Esme Rose in 2019.

Now she has more than 47k Instagram followers and a host of celebrity customers.

Bethany told the Globe: “When I started off I didn’t really have confidence in creating a business: I began with three designs and my mum took pictures of me on an old iPhone and I uploaded them to Instagram.

“They were terrible quality but I was blown away by how many orders I received.

“It just goes to show that my customers genuinely liked the designs as I’ve never had a team or had experience in social media or building a brand.”

Bethany studied at Liverpool Community College for two years before completing her degree at Liverpool John Moores University in Fashion Design.

After her degree Bethany went on to design for high street brands such as Lispy, Next, New Look and Primark.

Bethany explains that she set by By Esme Rose as a side project alongside designing for other brands.

She said: “The business started off as a hobby, creating outfits for me and my friends for nights out and special occasions.”

Owner of By Esme Rose, Bethany Chard

But it wasn’t long before she was inundated with orders.

In March 2019 Bethany decided to take the plunge and quit her job to put her all into the brand full time.

She said: “Esme Rose is my middle name and so it felt natural to name the brand after myself.

“I’ve been a one team company since I started and absolutely everything from design to manufacturing, to modelling the clothing, managing the social media, packaging the parcels and sending them was all down to me.

“Only recently has this become impossible with how the brand has continued to grow and so I’ve hired two seamstresses to help me and a social media assistant.”

Bethany said when she first went full time with her brand she was making outfits in her mum’s box room but quickly outgrew the space so decided to rent out a room in a building on Dale Street.

“I couldn’t have been more wrong! The building was really corporate and I just didn’t fit in,” she said.

“My neighbours were accountants and solicitors. I had people getting changed in the communal toilets and I look back now and cringe!

“I just had to make the best of the situation” she added.

The day before the first lockdown Bethany moved to a bigger room at Oh Darlin, a salon based at Dunes Way in Liverpool.

By Esme Rose based in Oh Darlin in Liverpool

Bethany added: “It’s the perfect fit. I’m in a very girly environment, next to cosmetics, hair and laser.”

During the lockdown Bethany saw By Esme Rose continue to grow, getting involved in Love Island and Dancing On Ice star Maura Higgins’ footwear campaign with Ego, as well as dressing fellow Love Island contestants Elle Brown, Demi Jones and winner turned West End star Amber Davies.

Bethany said: “Being asked to be part of Maura’s national campaign with Ego was surreal and she looked absolutely stunning!

Love Island star, Maura Higgins, wearing By Esme Rose on EGO footwear shoot

“For the business, it’s amazing to dress a celebrity as their huge followings mean that millions of people see my designs and we get a massive surge in orders.”

As her business continues to grow, Bethany’s said her goal in the next five years is to have her own warehouse with a team of seamstresses, a social media and web team, and since she’s never invested in marketing,

She said: “I’d love to try it and see how it can take By Esme Rose to the next level.

“I would love to release campaigns more regularly and have a bigger and better shop where my customers can visit to buy off the rail and see celebrities in my designs.”

You can find out more about Esme Rose here.