Jackie is joined by Gillian Ridley Whittle, founder of Peachaus - an ethical lingerie and wellness brand built around comfort, community and genuine care for women's bodies. Gillian's CV reads like a who's who of British retail: Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Topshop and a four-year stint in Australia working for Target and Myer. But it was leading Topshop through the pandemic, watching it sold to Asos, and being made redundant shortly after, that forced a reckoning she'd been quietly building towards for years.

What followed wasn't a pivot so much as a homecoming, back to an idea she'd sketched out on a beach in Melbourne in 2016, back to the belief that fashion could be a force for good and back to underwear: the category she'd fallen in love with at M&S and never quite let go of.

Jackie and Gillian's chat explores the gap between external success and internal fulfilment, the anxiety Gillian had hidden behind a capable exterior for years and the slow, determined process of building something that actually aligned with who she is. It's also a masterclass in listening to your customers, from a blackboard outside a teepee at a wellness festival to bra fits in WeWork offices. and following the evidence wherever it leads.

Coming up in this episode:

• From trainee buyer to Topshop Fashion Director, and what the high street lost when the golden era ended
• Leading Topshop through Covid, the sale to Asos, and what came after
• The anxiety hidden behind a high-flying career, and the moment something had to change
• The Pinterest boards, the deck and the six-year slow burn to launching Peachaus
• Why fashion can be a force for good, and what that actually means in practice
• How the name Peachaus came about, and the deeper meaning behind it
• The pivot from online brand to bra-fitting service and why the customers made it obvious
• What a blackboard outside a teepee tent at a wellness festival taught Gillian about her business
• Why most women are wearing the wrong bra size, and the health consequences nobody talks about
• Peachaus's partnership with CoppaFeel and the move into women's workplace wellness

About My Guest: Gillian Ridley Whittle

Gillian Ridley Whittle is the founder of Peachaus, an ethical lingerie and women's wellness brand. With over 25 years in fashion retail — including director-level roles at Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Target Australia and Topshop — she launched Peachaus to put comfort, care and community at the heart of an industry that had lost its way. Peachaus now operates a bra-fitting service for corporate clients alongside its product range, and Gillian is building it into a national — and eventually global — movement.

Peachaus website: https://peachaus.com/
Gillian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-ridley-whittle-89a62313/

EXCLUSIVE PEACHAUS DISCOUNT CODE FOR 15% OFF: WILDPEACH15

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