Let’s be honest, it’s hard out there - but we wear it well. Hayley Menzies was built on boldness: female-founded, female-run, and fearless in spirit. Created for the women who do it all, in meeting rooms and on dance floors; at school gates or airport terminals and every pitstop in between. This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the women who help make Hayley Menzies the brand it is today. To do this, we checked in with everyone we work with to give us an insight into the woman who have inspired them into the women they are today.
Hayley, Founder and Creative Director -
Wendy Hapgood, the co-founder of Wild tomorrow. She quit her comfortable, well paid job in finance to save wildlife.
Naomi, CEO of NMD - My wonderful team inspires me everyday.
Nathalie, E-commerce Manager - My mum inspires me.
Martha, Print and Textile Co-Ordinator - My mum inspires me the most as she always shows kindness above all else.
Beth, Head of Product Development - Hard to really pin it down to one person as I know so many inspiring women and surround myself with them daily, including of course my mum. However, if I had to choose an Artist, it would be Vanessa Bell of Charleston House. Her creativity and passion for colour and decoration was unashamedly bold, beautiful, and feminine and she seemed to constantly seek out happiness with a playful alternative edge.
Aimee, Sales Manager - I would say rather than one woman, I'm inspired by women as a collective. I've been lucky enough to have worked with some incredibly inspiring and entrepreneurial women in my 20 years in fashion. I've seen friends push to the top of male dominated fields, women change career trajectory after becoming mothers, but most of all it's the endless support I find in other women.
Freya, Wholesale Co-ordinator - I have so many amazing women in my life that I can't choose just one but firstly, my mam. She has shown me strength as a woman in many ways, from her career, her parenting and her as a person. Secondly, the great friendships I have built with my closest friends, from childhood and newer friends in adulthood. They have taught me how true a bond can be, and how selfless, kind and caring true friends can be!
Eliza, Junior Production Manager - Coco Chanel was a trailblazer who redefined women’s fashion and, more importantly, their place in society. Through her success in a male-dominated industry, she proved that women could be independent entrepreneurs, shaping their own destinies.
Hazel, Content and Communities Manager - Isadora Duncan has been a hugely inspiring woman in my life. She shaped contemporary dance into the art form it is today and made way for other legends like Martha Graham to take up space in the industry. She was a strong and powerful woman whose life resonates with me.
Nina, Style Advisor - I’ve adored Katherine Hepburn as she has an irrepressible spirit and is fiercely independent and intellectual too. She was a role model and an icon for female empowerment before feminism even existed.
Liv, Style Advisor - Raye inspires me because she has always believed in herself even when people with higher power have told her otherwise. She has stuck to her dream and proved she is a world class artist and inspired the pressure to go in a different direction!
Maggie, Factory Owner - My mother inspires me; a kind, smart and brave lady
Jo, Founder of Soko Kenya - International Women’s Day is about celebrating women who swim against the tide, stand up, push back against systems, and refuse to be silenced—whether in the courtroom, in workplaces, or in their own lives. From Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who used her voice to challenge injustice at Trump’s inauguration, to Alice Wahome, the founder of Friends for Justice in my small rural town in Kenya, who represents survivors of sexual violence in court—these women remind us of the power of using our one wild and precious life in pursuit of justice and meaningful change.
Camilla, Copywriter - a woman working in fashion is inspired by kate moss? i know, groundbreaking - but the croydon queens enduring cool deserves every bit of adoration. Back in the day, her career could have been over, but she walked through the fire of her scandals, cig in hand, never begging for redemption. Legendary.
Fifi, Photographer - My person would be, my girlfriend Ava. Her thoughtfulness and kindness inspire me daily. Her creativity and work ethic is incredible and she consistently inspires me to push the boundaries of my own work.