Tianah Hodding

Tianah is well versed in the power of social media on fashion and retail; her day job is heading up socials for the secondhand retail app Vinterior. Running CHRISTIANAHJONES as a side hustle, albeit one with global scale, comes with its challenges. ‘I struggled to get people on board at first because I wasn’t working on it full time,’ she says.

She says she gets a lot of judgement for her decision to work in this way, but for her it’s a matter of pragmatism. As a 25-year-old living in London, the security of a full-time job isn’t something to be taken lightly. ‘By working, I feel more comfortable funding everything,’ she says.

An unexpected expense came along quickly. ‘I was popping off so quickly that companies like eBay and Alibaba were stealing my designs and selling them for knock-off prices,’ she says.

Tianah consulted a lawyer but, beyond trademarking her company name and registering her designs with HMRC, there was little she could do. ‘That was really painful,’ she says.

The setbacks haven’t stopped her, though, and Tianah is now in the middle of a rebrand. She wants customers to be able to buy her collections from a range of online stores, anywhere in the world. ‘The long-term vision is to be the go-to eyewear label,’ she says.

As for the tiny sunglasses, she’s got her sights set on new designs and styles. But in keeping with her ethos, the collections themselves will stay small. ‘I want to drop two designs a year,’ she says.