WORDS BY COURTNEY ELIZA
The rarity of discovering the early days of an authentic designer in today’s fashion world is a refreshing find. That’s exactly how it felt when I met Frances Watts, founder and designer of womenswear brand Frarlibeth; an ethical, woman-owned, luxury label.
SS25 collection photographed by Frances
I met Frances properly around a year ago now, and something just instantly clicked with her and I. We’ve had a similar up bringing, both in awe with the fashion industry, both big sisters, animal lovers, same hellish stories of working in retail, and so much more — it’s scary actually. The universe seriously aligned the day we met and I know she will relate; it just felt like a spiritual bond, like the beginning of something incredibly special.
When I started to follow along Frances’ fashion journey, I knew I wanted to be apart of her incredible story. Not only does she work on her brand at any given moment, but she also has a full time job in social media too — this is why it is beyond inspiring, given the amount of heart, time and money she pours into this, as a 24-year-old individual from an ordinary life.
THE SPRING/SUMMER 25' SHOOT:
Around a month ago now, I had the pleasure of being invited along to Frances’ Spring/Summer 2025 collection in Battersea, London — spoiler alert, I said yes! It was on a beautiful sunny morning towards the end of March, where I joined alongside her mother Amanda, a student make-up artist, Sadie Jefferson from The University of Northampton, and of course our model Rhianna. Witnessing the raw behind-the-scenes of a fashion photoshoot opened my eyes to the sheer realism behind the hours of work, concept and production that goes into it. So often we see the final result of a shoot on Instagram, where everything has been edited, finely tuned and perfected, but this was humbling to get this opportunity and see what really goes on.
The day started with the team travelling to our photoshoot location in glorious Battersea. The room was clean, textured walls, leather seats, lush plants, and the golden sun projecting through the windows. I brought my Canon G7x Mark III to the set, alongside a tripod to help with the behind the scenes photography, as well as vlog-style videography.
We got straight to work. Makeup artist Sadie Jefferson began her masterpiece on model Rhianna, referring to Frances’ pre-made inspiration mood board — think dark smokey eyes, Kate Moss late 90’s inspired. Her mother Amanda was on steaming duty with the garments, Frances was test shooting her camera, and I was setting up all the iPhones ready for Instagram/TikTok lives. This really was a team project, and all women too, (love to see it!)
As soon as the beauty was finished, we put Lana Del Rey on the speaker to set the mood. Frarlibeth has a luxury, confident woman, lifestyle behind it. It’s extremely empowering. It has a positive and strong aura at the heart of it all. Frances does actually use Lana’s music often to promote her brand and I can see why. It fits perfectly. The old money city girl, free-spirited, womanly energy — she just gets it.
The first outfit was her “IT GIRL.” tee shirt. The garment is everything you’d want in a tee shirt. It’s opaque, a comfortable fabric, a perfect length, and my favourite part — the writing is embroidered! You may be thinking, “but it’s just a tee shirt?” It isn’t. This is something that will last a long time. It’s a staple. It’s a timeless, luxury item that clearly took time to make considering every detail was thought of.
What makes the brand so special as well is that Frances makes sure her brand remains ethical. She has extremely important values where many of her drops are pre-orders to reduce textile waste, and makes sure the factory workers where her clothes are produced are paid fairly. I’ve even witnessed the communication she has with her factory in China. The way she works with them is something to be proud of, but sadly it’s something that isn’t common in the fashion industry with the increase of poor working environments and financially damaging conditions. That kind of transparency is a rarity in fashion today. Designers, take notes!
As the day progressed, we moved onto her second drop: a matching black co-ord with her brands initials embroidered onto the extended collar. The top is a cropped blazer with the most beautiful buttons, as well as the matching skirt with similar detailing. It’s something I’d love to have in my wardrobe actually, I feel like every girl would love this. It’s a very flattering piece, and so effortlessly chic.
We shot this look in the room on set, then we decided to take this look out onto the streets of London where traditional red buses could be found driving past, or the beautiful Battersea Power Station in the background. It had a really powerful image for the brand considering Frarlibeth is British owned. It was comical outside shooting; myself and Frances found ourselves on the floor, walking backwards and pulling some questionable angles like we were playing a game of Twister, but anything for the shot… right? Just think: Twister meets Vogue.
Once we wrapped up and Frances was happy with the outcome, we decided to say farewell to beautiful Battersea. Frarlibeth Spring/Summer 25’ out! I was so excited to send over my imagery and videography to Frances, and even more excited to write about the day. Let’s just say, I’ve seen the photos she has taken and boy are we all in for a treat.
I truly cannot wait to see where Frarlibeth’s journey leads. I know Frances has a lot up her sleeve… and I really do believe this brand is without a doubt — one to look out for.
WRITTEN BY: COURTNEY ELIZA