Updated: 7 hours ago
Tete a Tat With Hannah Cawley by Blue Firth, October 2026
Amidst the haze of the first Covid lock down, a long Instagram scrolling session became particularly fruitful. Little did I know that 6 years later I would be celebrating at the most perfect wedding of said fruit, nor that we would work together and become friends - but much has to be said for the internet when it forges meaningful relationships and ties together people who might otherwise have been forever strangers. Any way back to the scrolling. My swipe up was arrested by a particularly bewitching editorial image. A strawberry blond women gazing right out of the picture in a semi natural landscape on a dreary grey day. There was a tweed-ish blazer with an abstracted kilt pin on the lapel, a pony skin wide brimmed hat, a cream roll neck and maybe a waxed coat? The styling was one for a weird yet chic country walk. My dream outfit. I immediately imagined Tilda Swinton or Gwendoline Christie striding through a glen or rowing a boat. Every detail sung - two gold earrings that cuffed the lobes, a slight upturn of a collar, a singularly confident yet relaxed pose. I got that excitement you get when you’ve found a new favourite. I clicked on the profile and entered the world of Cawley.
At that time Hannah Cawley was deep in smocking. Having moved home during lockdown her fascination with the technique had got her and her mum smocking 24/7. Sleeves, ankles and necklines emerged and sat alongside pieces from the brand (that was by this point three years old). The Instagram profile shifted from Victoriana to Modernism, plates of food to posters of music nights. Historic references were clear in the work, but also more spurious combinations that came from Hannah’s previous experience as a chef, a DJ and a dancer. She cut her teeth at YMC where she honed a singular understanding of pattern and texture, something which later translated into seasonal ensembles mixing stripes, sheepskins, linens and silks. The brand of course does everything a conscious Sartorialist wants - made in the UK, sustainable practices, the cherishing of traditions and craftsmanship, but what makes Cawley so wonderful is Hannah. I know I’m biased but it’s her vision and love of life that saturates the brand with comfortable elegance. Items are named after friends, her studio looks like her dining room, collections launch with her cooking pasta in the garden for everyone who works with her. When she’s not dreaming up perfect outfits, she’s making strange ceramics or papier mache heads for sheepskin hats. Her playfulness and curiosity lead what comes next, often spurred on by something antique or a found heirloom. A pair of tiny yellow Georgian silk shoes lead to a wedding jacket, a box for starched collars turns into the most perfect handbag, a plastic pin badge of a clown discovered at a car boot is cast in silver as a tribute to Hannah’s Auntie Jean.
With many impressive collaborations ( the V&A, Cubitts, The William Morris Gallery and Merchants and Mills) under its belt and an insanely covetable wedding collection, the brand blooms with each year ( it’s now 9 years old). If you want to cover yourself in silk or hide from seaside drizzle in practical yet elegant waxed garments Cawley has you covered, literally. From their delightful studio at Cockpit Art’s in Deptford you’ll find a cornerstone of considered, practical and wearable splendour that’s as beautiful and playful has Hannah herself. So we asked her some ridiculous yet revealing questions to give you a little glimpse into her world.
Favourite item in your home?
Our piano, a pub was giving it away.
Favourite room in your home and why?
The kitchen/dining room, I love being able to cook and host friends in the same space.
Favourite brand of crisp?
All crisps have a place in my heart, but I recently discovered Brets when I was in France and wow!
If you had to be a season which, would you be?
Autumn
If you could be anyone from history, who would you choose?
Edith Head. I watched a lot of Hitchcock films growing up, especially the ones with Grace Kelly. I was always obsessed with the costumes. Edith Head was behind many of my favourites, and I think that early fascination with the way clothing could create a character has stayed with me.
You’re locked into a museum or gallery for a day……
The Potteries Museum in Stoke on Trent. I'm from Stoke and we used to go to the museum as children. They have to-scale replicas of rooms in homes and businesses from early 20th century Stoke, my favourite was the fish and chip shop. Being the home of pottery in the UK, they also have an amazing ceramic collection, which has always been a big interest of mine.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Only your story about the evil fish killer ghost.*
What’s your favourite restaurant?
Cafe Deco or Keens in NY.
Ancient or modern?
Ancient
If you had a motto what might it be?
It is what it is.
If you could spend 6 months in any country where would it be?
Wales. It’s where I feel the calmest and the most creative. Friends and I go and stay in a small hobbit house in Llandrinio. There is river right next to it to swim in, and you can cook outside. It is just my idea of heaven.
Your idea of happiness?
Cooking and being with friends and my dog
Favourite film?
Phantom Thread or What ever happened to baby Jane or Rear window
Any current earworms?
Always Steely Dan
* Hannah is referring to one of my best ghost stories
