From Start-Up to Cult Status: How Small Fashion Brands Are Getting Noticed in 2025

You did it. You finally took the leap of faith to chase your dream and started a fashion brand you've always wanted. As a small fashion brand in London (or anywhere really!), you already know the grind: packing orders in your bedroom, shooting on your phone, doing customer service, social media, product design, - often with a team of... just you. Fashion landscape is fast, visual, and noisy. And still, against all odds, some brands break through. What sets them apart? And how can you achieve all your dreams you've set up for your brand?

Sadly, gone are the days of make it and they'll come. In 2025, it's not just about creating beautiful pieces of clothing. Instead, it’s about building a world around them - the world your dream customer wants to be a part of. Brands capturing hearts (and shopping carts!) are the ones who get this.

Let’s unpack what’s working, who’s nailing it, and how you can too.

Why Visual Storytelling Still Creates Iconic Fashion Brands

Let me hold your gorgeous talented hand when I tell you: people don’t just buy clothes - and when they do, they buy it on fast-fashion abroad ecomm retailers (you know the ones). With brands, they buy identity, belonging, a vibe. Editorial photography is one of the fastest, most powerful ways to show not just what you sell, but what you stand for.

Of course, it’s just one part of the mix. Brands that grow from underground to cult status are building layered ecosystems: smart social content, authentic community, great product, clever brand positioning. But it’s the visuals that light the match. They stop the scroll, invite emotion, and make your audience feel. Storytelling has never been more valuable. Brands with a clear visual and emotional identity cut through the noise. They become memorable. Followed. Shared. Bought into.

When done well, an editorial shoot becomes a brand's visual thesis. It sets tone, taste, and aspiration in one shot. It can also feed an entire season’s worth of content, campaign materials, press angles, and storytelling.

Brand Doing It Right: Sister Jane's Dreamy Visual Escape

Since its launch in 2011, London-based label Sister Jane has become one of the most visually and stylistically exciting fashion brands. Together with their regular collection refreshes making products feel more exclusive, Sister Jane immerses its customers into their new worlds, inspired by culture, fairytails, and seasonal beats. With campaigns including Birds of a Feather, Swan Dance, Before Midnight, and the latest A Fine Catch, Sister Jane offers its community a vision, a fantasy, and a mood. Going a step further, not only do they design their campaigns - even their ecomm product images match the theme, provising an exciting and smooth customer journey, unified each step of the way.

The Resource Myth

I hear you: I know as a fashion brand owner, you are holding everything in your own two hands. You’re doing the design, the socials, the customer service, and probably steaming the samples too.

So the idea of a “campaign shoot” might sound like something only big-budget brands can pull off. But trust me: it’s more accessible than you think.

That’s where working with a photographer who gets your vision (and your constraints) comes in. When we collaborate on an editorial shoot, I’m not handing you a rigid moodboard and calling the shots. I’m here to co-create with you, to bring your brand’s story to life in a way that feels real and authentic to you.

Trends as Low-Budget High-Impact Inspiration

While not all trends are created equally, some can be a fantastic source of inspiration for your next editorial story on a budget. Have you ever noticed yourself carrying everything and your kitchen sink in your hands? So have other girlies, and girls hands trend was born. It’s a mood, a moment, a mirror to the chaos of real life. What makes a trend like this special is how it speaks to the audience and their lived experience. Seeing brands speak to our experience makes us say "That's so me" and share it with our DM bestie. And with that share, that deep understanding of your audience, communities are born. Are you a cheeky jewellery brand launching a brand new ring collection? You know what to do.

How to Start Building Cult Status of your Dreams

Ask yourself:

• What world do I want my customer to step into?

• Who is this brand for?

• What are 3-5 reference points (films, brands, moods) that shape my brand identity?

Then, find a photographer who can help bring that world to life. Someone who understands fashion and branding. Someone who doesn’t just shoot clothes, but captures character.

That’s where I come in.

I am Valerie, a London-based editorial and fashion photographer behind VG Portraits, and I'm looking forward to working with you! If you’re ready to turn your start-up into something people obsess over, let’s build that visual world together. One that doesn’t just look good, but makes your future customers feel something. Reach out today and let's talk!