About Renee
Growing up in the southern Hemisphere I have always considered myself a “sun-seeker”. I was always happiest when outside and near the ocean. As an adult this didn’t in any way subside and if anything it became stronger as my passion for travel grew. I moved to London and spent the next 5 years battling the weather in between as many international trips as I could get. The lack of freedom my corporate career was providing me grew increasingly more frustrating and my desire to start my own business and create a lifestyle in which I could travel more frequently became a priority. In 2017 I decided I was no longer willing to sacrifice my freedom and continue to work the cliche 9-5 in a dreary office everyday and so I decided to take a leap of faith. I quit my corporate job in London and used my savings to support myself while I figured out what it was exactly that I wanted to pursue.
I had always felt there was a huge gap in the fashion landscape in the UK, a gap I would classify as “middle market fashion”, one which caters to women who want both high quality and fashion forward garments but at a reasonable price point. Instead all I could find were fast fashion brands and garments of low quality, which was a little more on trend OR upper market price point, mid-high quality which often lacked style and brand feel. I felt like there wasn’t anything catering to me and my friends – professional women in our 20s and 30s who cared about the quality of our fashion items but also didn't feel like it should mean we had to sacrifice on style. I found this especially difficult when looking for swimwear and would struggle with this battle every time I went to go on a vacation!
I saw the perfect niche that both satisfied a genuine need in market as well as touching on a lot of my passions - travel and affordable high quality items that made you feel sexy! Analysing the business model I quickly ascertained that I could develop this brand and business in a manner which meant I would have more flexibility for my lifestyle to allow me to have control of my own time/where I lived and when I travelled, and so, Ode & Rae was born.
Today my role in the business has become more macro level operation, strategy and brand direction. What this materialises as day to day is working alongside Suzie making decisions to ensure operationally we are running as efficiently as possible, working alongside Lucia making decisions on things such as our marketing strategy and campaigns, content generation and everything creatively in between. I also solely look after the manufacturing process, financial forecasting and budgeting and I tend to play the largest role in New Product Development and so the upcoming clothing range has been keeping me busy!
I have been pouring my heart and soul into this business since day one and I truly hope we are creating something that you all love and we can be a part of your travel adventures!