HOW IT ALL BEGAN

THE STORY SO FARborn from an unbridled love of dressing up

Me and Sam Bloom at Glastonbury Festival 2023

Rosa Bloom's beginnings back in 2008 were inspired by UK festival culture, especially the spirit of freedom, expression, and playfulness of the flourishing festival scene. From day one, my vision was to create clothing outside the realm of the mainstream fashion world. To instead make the stuff of my dreams: transformational clothes, the outfits I wanted to wear at festivals, but couldn't find. But also to make clothes fit for real life: that is, wearable, comfortable, and easy.

THE FIRST TRIP TO BALI

So, aged 23, I booked a flight to Bali, packed a suitcase with my favourite vintage pieces, notebooks of ideas, and collages of inspirations, and set off on a mission to find the people who could help me bring these visions to life.

First trip to Bali, 2009

Fabric shopping, Bali, 2009

I walked the streets of Bali, striking up conversations with everyone I met, from Balinese tailors, shop owners, and jewellers, to other foreigners travelling like me, there to explore the island's rich abundance of makers.

The first runs were so small, sometimes with so many colour variations that I was only making one garment in each colour, meticulously measuring out end-of-roll fabrics to work out how many pieces I could make, and handing over detailed notes on finishing touches to my tailors.

My desk, Bali 2009

Home studio, Bali, 2010

ADVENTURES IN FESTIVAL LAND

THE FIRST SEASON

That first year, I sent a single shipment back to the UK, and applied to trade at my favourite festivals of the season, including the iconic Glastonbury,The Secret Garden Party, and Bestival. Inspired by Glastonbury's legendary Lost Vagueness ballroom, I drove halfway across the country to a vintage warehouse where a contact had offered me my pick of second-hand wedding dresses. I was like a kid in a sweet shop and filled my tiny Vauxhall Corsa to the brim with silk and tulle - I definitely couldn't see anything in the rear view mirror on the drive home.

I dyed the dresses a rainbow of colours in my mum's washing machine, squeezed them into my Transit van along with the antique chaise longue I'd found on Freecycle, mirrors, velvet drapes, real rose bushes, and the wooden sign I'd painted by hand, and set off on the festival circuit.

My friend Jess, who helped me set up my first festival stall at Glastonbury 2009

In front of the stall, Glastonbury 2009

First up was a muddy Glastonbury. The festival goers weren't deterred by the weather, and embraced my distinctly maximalist aesthetic. Ballgown and wellies was officially in.

Sixteen years later, that very same chaise longue is still going strong and gracing my festival stall (she's been reupholstered twice).

Glastonbury continues to be a cherished highlight on our calendar, and creating
transformational clothing that kindles joy, confidence, and connection is still
my driving force.

In front of the festival stall, 2022

The festival stall

Rosa Bloom proudly remains fiercely independent, driven by a small, dedicated team of three in a riverside studio in Cornwall. Together, we chart our own course, defying the relentless cycles of trends and consumerism that often shape the fashion industry.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.