“Oh Odd Muse, you will be the death of me”
“I have never wanted to give up as much as I do now”
A direct quote from Aimee Smale, CEO and figurehead of leading slow fashion brand Odd Muse.
Aimee said these words merely three months ago on her personal TikTok page around the time her business was projected to make over £50 million in sales by the end of 2024.
It might not be immediately obvious why she said this, so what’s gone wrong? For those unfamiliar with OddMuse, Aimee Smale is the fashion house’s founder and primary figurehead, modelling every piece of clothing and appearing in all the social media content.
Being socially led, we, the audience, have had the opportunity to witness Aimee’s journey in its entirety, from leaving her job at ASOS to owning one of the most popular clothing brands in the UK. By exposing the hardships of running a business has meant that her customers rally behind her and the brand, with behind-the-scenes content creating greater trust between the brand and the consumer. That being said, she’s not the first person to do so.
Do brands need figureheads?
Due to its efficacy in building trust, a brand figurehead (like Aimee Smale is to Odd Muse) has remained a popular concept in marketing. With an increasingly saturated market, Gen-Z are becoming jaded and more sceptical of run-of-the-mill marketing campaigns. According to a survey by Salesforce, only 53% of Gen Z participants said brands came across as authentic, much lower than the 61% of millennials who said the same. This shows the need for brands to reposition themselves, and what better way to increase trust and authenticity than by putting a real-life person behind it?
Take Elon Musk, for example; although he is the face of the brand, he isn’t pictured driving every Tesla that has ever been advertised. Richard Branson isn’t found on pictured every Virgin Atlantic train carriage, and Steve Jobs isn’t the face you see when you unbox a new Apple product.
What makes OddMuse work?
Unlike them, however, OddMuse’s CEO, Aimee, quite literally is her brand, where some of the names mentioned above have been able to maintain distance and privacy, this uncensored version is the main contributing factor to why OddMuse became so successful in the first place.
After Aimee left her previous role at fashion giant ASOS in 2020, she built an empire just four years later, featuring a collection of capsule wardrobe pieces and documenting it all. By providing candid insights into her working life on all her social platforms and making customers feel like they are buying directly from her, she has created strong brand loyalty. Combining this with unique designs and high-quality garments led to her forecast of £50 million in sales for 2025.
The challenges of being a full-time figurehead
Despite this success, it has not come without its challenges. For Aimee, her first hurdle was facing copycat brands, with the popularity of her fashion line leading to many duplicates being produced. To prevent this from devaluing her product, Aimee publicly announced that she would model all clothing so consumers knew that the product was genuine, further cementing herself as ‘the brand’.
Despite these challenges, Aimee’s next hurdle was far bigger: personal burnout.
At the time, Aimee had been dealing with the ins and outs of her rapidly expanding business, which she had started at just 22. She stated, “It’s just not what I thought it was going to be, and maybe I’m not the best person for the job?” Her response, however, embodied what made her brand so special. She kicked her transparency up a notch and uploaded a video of herself sobbing. “It’s the only way I could articulate how much I am struggling at the moment.”
Based on this very honest account, it’s no surprise that according to a Sifted survey of 156 startup founders, 49% said they were considering quitting their company in the coming year due to burnout. Despite being a high number already, this doesn’t account for CEOs like Aimee, who are much more than just a face or name.
As a response to her video, she received a DM from renowned entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, who generously gave his details to lend an ear. “I received a 15-minute voice note back of pure gold; I felt lighter with every minute and still feel totally overwhelmed by his kindness”.
Bartlett advised her that she needed to keep going, and that he would offer some support to find the right person to help her run Odd Muse in 2025. He explained the moment he reached the “promised land” where founders could focus on their role in the company and not be distracted by areas their expertise may not even be the best fit for. “I am now so motivated to reach the promised land!
This lesson from Aimee’s journey highlights the importance of not being able to do it all. Instead, Aimee’s role should be creative vision and culture, and there are certain things that she should not be dealing with.
How can brand figureheads can protect their mental health?
So, aside from taking counsel from Steven Bartlett himself, what other approaches can be taken to maintain one’s mental health? Take Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty line, for example. Unlike Aimee, Selena maintained a link between herself and the brand by showing up for important events and appearing occasionally on socials without taking part in the daily decision-making process.
Additionally, Selena Gomez took a break from Rare Beauty to focus on her health after being diagnosed with Lupus—a decision her fans embraced due to her consistent openness. Given that Aimee has already shown transparency with her own mental health journey, Aimee could take the goodwill earned from her honesty as an opportunity to take some much-needed time off, with her audience more likely than ever to offer support and understanding.
While there is certainly a place and time for CEOs to be the front and centre of their brand, this should never come at the expense of health and wellbeing. If you’ve been willing enough to take the audience on your journey, building up trust and honesty, you will also be rewarded when you decide to take steps to look after yourself.
