The Story of SLA with Sarah Ashcroft
London based lifestyle influencer and fashion label founder, Sarah Ashcroft, shares with us how she organically grew her brands — both personal and cool-girl cult favorite SLA The Label. Inspired by her desire to wear joggers 24/7, Ashcroft launched her companies from the ground up and has always focused on giving her followers and customers exactly what they are searching for — comfort and quality.
London’s fashion history is as old as the city itself, and within the iconic fashion city is 27 year old, Sarah Ashcroft, an entrepreneur and designer who has always known that fashion was more than just a well-constructed outlet. Fortunately enough for the young media maven, her hard work and perseverance paid off. After college, Ashcroft attended the illustrious Fashion Retail Academy in London to find her niche in the fashion industry. While there, Ashcroft started her blog, That Pommie Girl, as a way to set herself apart from other entry level job seekers for a career in fashion public relations. Using her blog as a launchpad in job interviews, Ashcroft aimed to showcase to future employers that she had an in-depth knowledge of the then-burgeoning business world of influencers, bloggers and other social media entrepreneurs. “I would upload daily outfits — many of which I now cringe looking back at,” laughs Ashcroft, “but who doesn’t love a glow up moment — and share links to where you could buy those items and little notes about myself, styling tips and anything else I felt like sharing.” Roughly six months later, a savvy 19 year old and a burgeoning blog, the influencer left her retail job and never looked back.
Launching SLA The Label in June 2019, Ashcroft was inspired by her jet-set lifestyle and love for cozy, but put together, airport outfits. “I always knew I wanted to do more and have an actual business to call my own, especially after working for other brands for 7 years,” shares the designer. “I knew I had to utilize and do something with the following I had spent so many years growing, and by 2019 I had a pretty good understanding of my own selling power from previous collaborations I was lucky enough to have.” Years ahead of her time, Ashcroft saw the gap in the market for high-quality, off-duty attire that is affordable and true to the desired sizing. Predominantly, SLA The Label is a loungewear brand with a focus on tailored oversized fits. Ashcroft’s concept for her label came just as organically as her career. She designs with her followers in mind and scours Pinterest to keep her finger on the pulse of new trends. “I honestly design with my followers in mind because I feel like, especially with the OG followers, I have learnt so much from them along the way. What they want to wear, how they want it to fit and the sort of colors they want to wear it in. The SLA girl is someone who wants to look amazing and feel effortlessly cool at the same time. She’s full of sass, but is not high maintenance,” says Ashcroft. “Someone who appreciates fashion and loves to have fun with it.”
“The SLA girl is someone who wants to look amazing and feel effortlessly cool at the same time.”
The label’s current collection Self Love was launched at the end of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. “It was a collection inspired by something that we all need to practice more of and that is of course, self-love,” heartens Ashcroft. “We love to try to get across positive messages throughout our brand so that felt like a perfect fit.” The collection features the label’s signature oversized fit sweatshirts, joggers, and sweat shorts in a variety of eye-catching colors. In stark opposition to the relaxed vibe that is the core of the brand, Ashcroft created SLA Luxe to mirror another side of her personal style. “I am either super casual or super dressed up, there really isn’t an in-between so it felt natural to add a dressy side to SLA,” says Ashcroft. SLA Luxe is all about cool girl chic. The line offers colors that are not normally found in her collection and is comprised of multiple little mini drops that allow the label to keep pushing out fresh and exciting fabrics and styles. The SLA Luxe’s glitter two pieces and sequin shirt dresses are the perfect pick for post pandemic partying. Next for the label is a brand-new beachwear collection — an extra special labor of love for Ashcroft — which will include more bright colors, oversized shirts and perfect statement holiday pieces.
To achieve Ashcroft’s coveted tailored and laid-back style, SLA The Label is a good place to start. The brand includes many of her go to pieces. “I love the very simple, chic, effortless looks. I live for an amazing pair of jeans with a statement leather jacket and a white racer top, or a simple oversized shirt with some cycling shorts,” shares Ashcroft. Her day-to-day look is just as refined. Ashcroft can be found in a pair of white trainers, jeans, and a bodysuit. For beauty, her choices are just the same. Ashcroft focuses on clean, clear, dewy skin. Her hero products include facial oil and a few swipes of clear brow gel and mascara. “The beauty item I can’t live without would be a really good cleanser. Nothing beats the feeling of freshly washed skin,” beams the designer.
“I am a big believer that if you want something to work you have to give it your 100%.”
Spending the past eight years nourishing her community across her various social media platforms and dedicating her years of knowledge to her ever-growing label, the entrepreneur continues to work to find the best ways to move forward. “I love the community that I have built and I am so grateful for everything it has given me,” shares Ashcroft. “I feel for me moving forward I will be focusing a lot more on SLA as I am a big believer that if you want something to work you have to give it your 100%. Having set SLA up on my own it does make it difficult to juggle both the brand and the influencer side of things so I hope that over time I can find a way for them to both sit side by side very happily and that I will be able to keep sharing both my life and my business with my amazing followers. And I hope to become someone to inspire any future female entrepreneurs by sharing my business journey the way I feel so inspired by the women in business I follow.” From luxe loungewear to sexy swimwear, one thing is for sure — no matter where Ashcroft goes her community is bound to follow — and will look and feel good while doing so.