Meet The Coedit, founded by Victoria Binns and Hannah Jinkins who both have a wealth of experience in the fashion industry and are now using those skills to create more sustainable options for fashion lovers.

Their rental collection is a capsule edit of thoughtfully selected pieces of versatile occasion wear, available to rent throughout the festive season and beyond.

Tell us about your brand and how it came to be.

To be really honest, it was born from our own change in buying habits! In 2020, with most of the world locked down — it gave us time and opportunity to reconnect with our personal wardrobes and we began making more sustainable change. We found it a lot less daunting than expected and knew this was something to share with others. Having both working in the fashion industry for a number of years, we were privy to the damaging effects and negative impacts it has, and strongly felt drawn to being part of a wave of positive change.In short, we basically created something that we felt we needed ourselves — a destination that focuses on curating contemporary pre-loved pieces and that makes it really easy to shop in a sustainable way.

Alongside, it was also important for us to create a community that was non-judgemental (the sustainability field can be somewhat overwhelming from the outside.) One that’s accepting of people on all different levels of their sustainable fashion journey, and so The Coedit was born!

We focus on curating pre-loved & vintage edits of clothing from a repertoire of contemporary and designer brands handpicked by us, whilst also helping people to reconnect with their own wardrobes through our styling services.

Favourite place to be inspired

Vic - Being a busy working mum, sometimes finding those moments to be inspired can be tough! For me I always feel the most inspired when I’m around other creatives, and a slow morning in London, grabbing a coffee and people watching in a cafe can be just what I need to reset.

Hannah — As Vic says, finding down time can be tricky when balancing family life! For sure being out and about, around other creatives and seeing individual style definitely has an impact. Whenever I can, I cherish going to less familiar galleries and any opportunity to be introduced to new independent artists and designers.

What gets you up in the morning?

Vic - Physically, my children haha. Figuratively, as cheesy as it sounds it’s the excitement of moving our business forward together, coming up with new ideas and just the open ended feeling of where it can all go. For so many years I had that Monday morning dread, I would genuinely dream about having the career that I have now, so I feel really lucky to be able to follow my passions.

Hannah — Absolutely, the shift from working in-house for a brand vs. for yourself is enormous. Knowing each day is different and actually being in the position to control that somewhat makes getting up each day that little bit easier. Also, knowing we’re doing something that works for us and around us is basically a dream — if there’s a day either (or both) of us just aren’t feeling it, honestly there’s nothing more valuable than calling up and just being able to be open about that!

If you could borrow anyone else's wardrobe, who would it be?

Vic - That’s a tough one because there are a lot of people’s style I admire! It would have to be a toss up between Sade in the 90s or Keturah from Tibi, both have such effortless style. I also have to mention Zoe Kravitz, because if I ever got to go on a red carpet she would 100% be my inspiration without a doubt.

Hannah — Honestly I think that’s too tough to answer — it changes with my mood! My go-to for style inspiration are Dione Davis, Nick Wakeman and Sidsel Alling to start with, but I could name more!

How would you dress your alter-ego?

Vic - Give me a bit of Grace Jones power dressing any day!

What are you reading and/or listening to?

Vic - I’m currently listening to The Kindness Method by Shahroo Izadi, she is an incredible behaviour change specialist, and instead of making any new year's resolutions I make it an annual tradition to listen and re-read her book and it just makes feel like I can achieve anything, it’s so inspiring.Hannah — I’m a tad obsessed with birth (I’m also a Hypnobirthing teacher) so the majority of my reading at the moment is around the topic of birthwork and meditation — nothing like mixing it up from our day-to-day at The Coedit!

Name one of your most daring moments?

Vic - Probably quitting my well paid job in the middle of a pandemic to go freelance with zero certainty of an income or where it could take me. I think my parents genuinely thought I'd lost the plot, but when you know, you know!

Hannah — Same for me really. I’ve been Freelance on-and-off since graduating, but always had long-term contracts and that security. But deciding earlier this year to jump in two-feet and really commit to The Coedit was probably the most daring moment.

How would you describe your style?

Vic - Eclectic with contemporary shapes, I love a pattern and a bit of colour but I like to mix in more minimalist pieces too.Hannah — I like to think it’s laid-back, minimalist and contemporary, peppered with a twist of vintage and statement pieces. Why is sustainability important to you?How could it not be? Definitely when you bring extra humans into the world, your entire perspective shifts. And then with more and more noticeable and reported impacts of the climate crisis, really it’s hard to ignore. At the end of the day, we know no-one particularly needs anything new, but if we can change even a handful of consumer’s habits, then we think it’s worth it.

What app can’t you live without?

Hmm, it’d be great to say we could live without it all wouldn’t it? Most things can go on pause but for us, probably Whatsapp because it’s where we communicate (day-in, day-out) about all things Coedit, parenting, friendship…The lot! Which shops/brands do you rely on?

Vic - I’m late to the party, I’ve also been an eBay girl through and through, but Vinted has won my heart this year. I also love small independent brands, this year I discovered Pavement store in Walthamstow Village, and wowee! What a store, it has such an awesome curation.Hannah — Vinted is fab, but like Vic, I’ll always be true to eBay too. Wolf & Gypsy in Brighton is up there as one of my favourites, and locally, I love Curated Man and Curated Woman as they have such fab pieces. In Central, Atelier 100 has an incredible curation. And for kids, it’s always going to be BeDiddy.

Who do you admire?

Vic - I’m part of The Stack World and Sharmadean Reid is right up there on my list of people that I admire. She’s just someone that I see as unstoppable, she has an idea and just goes out there and makes it happen, incredible tenacity and such an inspiring person.

Hannah — I’m going full on cheese here, and saying Vic. Genuinely the person who drives me, and the business, most days. Bloody lucky to do this with her!

Running a business can be an emotional roller coaster. It can also eat up endless amounts of time. How do you balance work, health and relationships?

‍Both being mothers really helps us to get the balance, as we remind each other to take that time when we need to and we’re very in tune with each other's needs. Plus there’s never any judgement if you need to cancel because you have a sick child! Planning in down time can be really helpful for us as it gives us something to work towards but also means that we have to take that time. It can be easy to fall into a 24/7 working culture because there’s always something to do, we try to remember that part of the joys of working for yourself is being able to do that morning workout class or take a long lunch in the middle of the day because you plan everything around your own time, Of course it’s not always possible but on the weeks that we manage to do those things it really pays off in making us feel like we have a balance.

What motivates you?

Our customers, every order, message, kind note and DM just makes it all worth it. It sounds a little ‘business-y’ but knowing that each interaction we have has the opportunity to create positive change in consumer habits.

What does it take to become a successful entrepreneur?

You have to be willing to go through the hard times, to be out of your comfort zone. Which is something I’m working on leaning into more, taking risks can feel scary and challenging, but it’s absolutely where you learn the most.

Are there any organisations/communities that help entrepreneurs succeed?

I mentioned The Stack World earlier which has been a huge source of support personally. I’m also part of The WIP which has lead to some brilliant networking opportunities and lastly we attended a really inspiring dinner last year with Conduit Connect.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Honestly, meeting you guys! Working with Loanhood has opened our eyes massively, and it’s been invaluable having that external impact on what we do here.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

That it's ok to feel discomfort, find it hard and find it challenging. Take all the risks, do the things that scare you and don't fall into the trap of working 24/7 because it isn’t productive.

Since starting the business, what have you learned?

Trust your intuition, no decision is a bad decision because there is always something to learn from it and that can be valued more than the decision itself.  

What has been your most satisfying moment since starting your business?

It has to be our recent pop-ups! They have been such a success and it’s such a good feeling seeing the brand come to life, meeting customers IRL and seeing them try on pieces you’ve sourced fills us with so much joy.

What is your favourite aspect of being a designer/founder?

The autonomy that we have as founders - we can come up with an idea and implement it the next day if we want to. Having that level of creativity is something we haven’t had since university and is something that’s so important to our working style. We love feeling like there’s no barrier to what you can create.

Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs who are just starting out?

Our advice would be to find experts in the areas that you’re not an expert in, you don’t have to know it all. Ask friends for advice, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and talk about your idea as much as possible to everyone because you never know who’s listening.

Who is your favourite loaner on Loanhood?

Hands down it has to be Swall, she has the most incredible pieces that she’s loaning out and we want her whole wardrobe.

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Rent The Coedit collection on the app or via their website