64. Cult Mia: the marketplace showcasing indie fashion at its finest

Founder: Nina Briance
Year founded: 2019
Website: https://cultmia.com/ 

Being a fashion designer is a tough gig, especially when trying to stand out amongst the racks of well-established brands.

Nina Briance discovered this when working at fashion platform Moda Operandi. Luxury consumers were eager to discover unique and sustainable offerings from upcoming designers, but the problem was that the market was oversaturated, making it difficult for independent brands to properly stand out.

Spotting a gap in an unsustainable sector, Briance designed Cult Mia – a luxury fashion marketplace showcasing the next generation of independent designers for an audience of hundreds of thousands of conscious, social media-savvy shoppers.

Cutting out copycat trends and focusing on unique pieces, the company has made it its mission to offer handpicked items that highlight craftsmanship and reflect individuality. 

Each piece is chosen with care to make sure it meets Cult Mia’s core principles around sustainability, quality and originality.

Cult Mia has also been recognised by major fashion ventures – most notably scoring a seed fund injection of £4.5M from H&M Group Ventures, Morgan Stanley, and Fuel Ventures. It was also crowned a Drapers Retailer of the Year for the third time in a row in 2024, making it a true trendsetter in the sustainable fashion space.

Cult Mia is certainly dressing for success in the future as well – aiming to become a household name in the UK, US and Middle Eastern markets. It also seeks to hit over £100 million in revenue, further solidifying its position as a leader in sustainable fashion. 

Overall, Cult Mia is really stitching together a niche in the fashion world, and we can’t wait to see how it tailors its success moving forward. With its strong principles and impressive achievements, we’re delighted to include it in this year’s Startups 100 Index.