26 In-spire LS
Emily, it is truly inspirational to me to see
young women taking the massive leap and
starting their own ventures. When did you
realise that you wanted to launch your own
fashion brand and become self-employed?
That's nice to hear, thank you. Half way through
my degree at FIDM it dawned on me that I would
someday love my own brand, but it wasn't until
spring 2011 that I really thought, I could actually
make this dream a reality.
I understand that you have a passion for tennis
for most of your life, but designing tennis
clothing is not a typical choice, particularly in
the world of fashion. Why did you choose to
launch a tennis wear collection and what has
been the overall response so far?
Tennis has always been around me; my mum
plays a lot of tennis, and I've played sporadically
throughout my life. Tennis isn't heavily focused
amongst other brands, yet there are a lot of
women who play tennis so I wanted our debut
collection to have a specific target that was
different to what is already in the shops. We have
had a fantastic response so far, it's really exciting.
You went from training to become an actress
to making a complete switch to studying
Merchandise Product Development at FIDM.
How much has learning this and developing
your skills in product development helped you
in the promotion of your brand?
Everything I learnt at FIDM has ultimately led
me to where I am today. I was blessed to get the
opportunity to study at FIDM, they gave me a lot
of information that I know I now use daily.
As most start- up companies recognise,
branding is everything, what skills have you
adopted and implemented in the promotion of
your brand and what methods have you found
have been the most effective?
I keep it very simple and try not to over
complicate things. 30Fifteen will have longevity
and we want our customers to know that, so we
try to keep them updated as much as possible.
With the current recession in full flow, it is hard to believe when young entrepreneurs start new
ventures and challenge themselves to aspire to higher heights. Young designer Emily Tonkin, is
one of these individuals who is making waves in the fashion world with her innovative, smart and
affordable tennis clothing line for women called 30Fifteen. Available in the UK, US and Australia,
the performance arts trained Tonkin, found her passion in designing and 30Fifteen is her launch
collection and is a full time project for this rising talent.
By Sasha Shantel @Sashashantelvip
F
ashion
F
ocus
30f
ifteeN
Emily Tonkin
In-spire LS
Fashion