Sheffield fashion designer gets style with a little help from her friends

Foundling Studio is a Sheffield-based label creating cool workwear-inspired fashion that is attracting a celebrity following. Hannah Clugston talks to its founder, Rebecca Hemans.
The Foundling Studio likes to use a diverse range of models, and here is the squad dressed in the Freaks collection. Rebecca Hemans says: “I definitely want to continue representing all sorts of different body types and genders. It reflects what I want to do with my customers.” Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.The Foundling Studio likes to use a diverse range of models, and here is the squad dressed in the Freaks collection. Rebecca Hemans says: “I definitely want to continue representing all sorts of different body types and genders. It reflects what I want to do with my customers.” Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.
The Foundling Studio likes to use a diverse range of models, and here is the squad dressed in the Freaks collection. Rebecca Hemans says: “I definitely want to continue representing all sorts of different body types and genders. It reflects what I want to do with my customers.” Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.

The first garment Rebecca Hemans remembers making was a catastrophic schoolroom attempt at a furry blue skirt out of some old curtains. “It didn’t fit at all!” she laughs. “But honestly, it doesn’t sound far from what I do now.”

The 26-year-old from Sheffield now runs Foundling Studio, a fashion label that includes heart-adorned asymmetrical boiler suits, paint-drenched leather jackets and luminous trousers with marbled fabric pockets.

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“There isn’t a lot that is subtle,” says Hemans, which is lucky because the bold prints and unique cuts have seen a host of celebrities arriving at Foundling Studio’s door for custom pieces. Donna Trump stepped out at Ru Paul’s UK DragCon in a fluorescent orange dress with puffball sleeves; Fickle Friends lead vocalist Natassja Shiner plays gigs in a zip-up, swirly patterned jumpsuit, and actor Max Harwood attended the press night of hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in dazzling blue tailored trousers. And this is all within Hemans’ first year of trading.

Fashion designer Rebecca Hemans of Foundling Studio wears an entirely handmade outfit. Hemans describes her style as “trashion” as she likes to make new garments out of pieces people are throwing out. Photograph courtesy of Madeleine Winters and My Indie Wardrobe.Fashion designer Rebecca Hemans of Foundling Studio wears an entirely handmade outfit. Hemans describes her style as “trashion” as she likes to make new garments out of pieces people are throwing out. Photograph courtesy of Madeleine Winters and My Indie Wardrobe.
Fashion designer Rebecca Hemans of Foundling Studio wears an entirely handmade outfit. Hemans describes her style as “trashion” as she likes to make new garments out of pieces people are throwing out. Photograph courtesy of Madeleine Winters and My Indie Wardrobe.
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“They come to me because they like my work but they want to have it tailored to them, so it is about suiting my aesthetic to their needs,” she says, adding that she is more than happy to try out new fabrics and shapes to fit the client’s requirements. Harwood initially contacted Foundling Studio via Instagram. “The other night we had a phone call for about 40 minutes where we were both on our laptops sending each other fabric options and reference images. It was really nice working so closely with someone.”

Born in South Africa and raised in Derby, Hemans originally picked up her sewing skills from her mother. “I started out helping my mum make costumes for plays for me and my sister,” she says. “She’s pretty good at sewing, but I think she is just quite headstrong and doesn’t like asking people for help. There has always been a bit of a DIY attitude in the house.”

After lending her creativity to various clothes shops and factories around Sheffield, Hemans decided to go it alone and launch her own label in early 2019, only three years after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University.

Make-up artist and model Beth Lannigan wears a Foundling Studio jumpsuit, £60. Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.Make-up artist and model Beth Lannigan wears a Foundling Studio jumpsuit, £60. Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.
Make-up artist and model Beth Lannigan wears a Foundling Studio jumpsuit, £60. Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.
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“My friend Felix asked me to paint on his girlfriend’s leather jacket and it sort of snowballed from there. I ended up doing loads of commissions for people – jackets, custom suits and things like that. I started thinking that I needed to concentrate fully on what I was doing if I could, and then I got the opportunity to work for myself at Thrifty Store in a space I could use for free and I just had to take it.”

One of Sheffield’s larger vintage shops, Thrifty Store is a two-storey haven of secondhand classics. Hemans can usually be found in the basement surrounded by a menagerie of fabrics, dressed in a Foundling Studio boiler suit and stitching away at her latest commission or collection. Sitting in the midst of preloved garments works well for Hemans as much of the fabric in her range comes from cast-off garments and textiles sourced from charity shops. The “found” in the brand’s title references Hemans’ desire to create upcycled outfits from “found materials”.

“Most of the material for my remake stuff comes from either the market or charity shops,” she says. “More recently I have been making distressed denim stuff. I go to charity shops, find loads and loads of old jeans and stuff like that and mash everything together to create some new textures – you can really get stuck into it.”

Sustainability is the main motivator behind her desire to dig into the piles of garments already out there, but she also finds the material itself to be quite inspiring. “I can see the potential in a decent textile. I think ‘that could become a jacket’ or ‘that could go on the back of something’.” And when ordering new fabric for commissions, Hemans takes only what she needs to reduce waste.

Rhiannon Brailsford wears worker jacket (£45). Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.Rhiannon Brailsford wears worker jacket (£45). Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.
Rhiannon Brailsford wears worker jacket (£45). Photograph courtesy of Ai Narapol and Foundling Studio.
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Even Foundling Studio’s ready-to-wear collection, which is made from UK-sourced fabrics and is available on Asos Marketplace, is undergoing a sustainable slimdown. Rather than mass purchasing fabric and pre-making lots of items in one go, Hemans plans to produce two versions of a new design, post them on social media and then create garments as they are ordered. There is more admin involved, but this system also reduces the likelihood of clothing not fitting customers properly as everything can be made to measure. “I absolutely love being able to make something fit someone perfectly,” she says.

The latest ready-to-wear collection, Freaks, includes high-waisted tailored trousers in deep red, flared cropped-trousers with marble print fabric and tie-dyed wrap tops. Hemans’ description of the aesthetic as “industrial workwear” is based in part on the fact the material comes from the same fabric supplier as the one that produces nurse, chef and fire department uniforms. It is durable and as the person wears it, it fits more to their form. I just want things to last a long time, basically.”

For Hemans, Foundling Studio is as much about the person wearing the garment as the creative idea behind it. She thinks of them striding out into the world dressed in an item that has passed through her fingertips. The label has also had confidence-boosting side effects for her: “I was painfully shy for a very long time. Foundling Studio has sort of forced me – in a good way – to be able to talk to people and meet new people. It is amazing just being able to work with people who like what I do, and I can learn more about them.”

Visit Foundling Studio in Sheffield at Thrifty Store, King Street. More information and commissions at@foundlingstudio.