Hush’s casual fashion range is making waves in the loungewear market. Mandy Watkins explains what inspires her and why every woman will want to own a few capsule items from the autumn range.

The story of Hush, the online womenswear brand with a relaxed and intelligent aesthetic, started – as many great businesses do – at a kitchen table.

Founder Mandy Watkins had just been made redundant from a communications role, but rather than mourning her lack of employment, she was suddenly equipped with free time, a lump sum and the opportunity to work for herself.

“Both my parents were self-employed,” says Mandy, who grew up in Australia, “and all their mates seemed to be self-employed as well, so I thought when I was growing up that everybody worked for themselves. I think that’s why I went out on my own.”

Mandy previously worked in marketing for Adidas and caught the fashion bug during her tenure at the sportswear giant. “The thing I love about clothing trends is that they change every six months, or even faster than that.”

The idea for Hush came about when Mandy’s shift in hemispheres saw her spending lots of time at her new home in London on cold winter evenings. She wanted to look relaxed but good and spotted a gap in the market for covetable loungewear. “Lots of people were doing dressy clothing and I thought that no one was really focused on dress-down pieces,” she explains.

And so, Hush – a word that encapsulated all that was comfy and cosy – was born. In the 13 years since the brand was founded, the company has grown organically and its collections have moved beyond loungewear into desirable day and evening wear that is effortless and feminine.

Mandy is inspired by what she, as a working mother of two with a social life, needs from her clothes. “I don’t have an enormous amount of time, so my wardrobe needs to be something that I don’t have to think about too much. Be it a skirt or a top that goes with lots of things – that I can throw on and can put in the washing machine and the dryer and ideally don’t have to iron – it’s that sort of clothing, that ease, that I always come back to.”

Model wears signature olive green joggers teamed with a leather jacket and metallic trainers.

Hush is well-known for its soft joggers, which come in a variety of finishes and prints and can be styled with trainers or heels. Its boyfriend jeans, soft leather biker jackets and star-print sweaters fly off the virtual shelves too. “I love stars, so I put them on loads of items,” says Mandy.

While a corporate job lends itself to a formal uniform from Monday to Friday, Hush’s modern, urban-friendly aesthetic is perfect for filling in the off-duty blanks, as well as being ideal for those who aren’t dictated by a dress code.

The brand’s loyal customer base is engaged and not afraid to give feedback, something which is invaluable when running a label that doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar presence. Mandy pays close attention to comments about fit, and regularly holds focus groups in the company’s headquarters in Battersea.

Hush is perhaps best summed up in a recent email from a customer, who wrote how she hated weekends, because: “I never knew what to wear — then I discovered you.”

Mandy believes that you only need a few key items to create a hard-working capsule wardrobe. “You can go a long way with a silk shirt or camisole, black jacket and joggers or jeans,” she advises. But there’s plenty more to tempt on the Hush website, with wear-everywhere bags, star jewellery, trainers, boots and even candles and chocolate. “It’s not a great night in unless there’s chocolate involved,” says Mandy.

Clearly a woman after our own hearts.